BY    THE 


Accession 


Genealogical   Societg, 

PORTLAND,  MAINE. 

SOLD  3V  THf 

i  Jqir,          *"»„-.  I     o 

..iain-j ,  troouiorjCcii  So< 


jet1 


HISTORY 


01      THE 


TOWN   OF   MONTFELIEK, 


I  KG  M     'I  H  1.     'I  1  M  J:     1 1'     W  A,  8     1  I  K  s  i     I  H  A.  III  L  li  K  J>     I  > 


TOGETHEK 


BlOCEAPHICAl  SKETCHEJl   OF  ITS  MI   MM  llMASED 


in  actordance  with  a  vok  of  (k  'JVuu  in  liarci 


BY  D.  P.  THOMPSON. 


MONTPELIER: 

E  ,      P  .       WALTON,      P  B  I  N  T  E  il 

1860, 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

DANIEL  P.  THOMPSON, 

In  the  Clerk'*  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of 
Vermont. 


FS9 


10    THE 

VATIVE  CITIZENS  OF  XOSTPEHH, 

OF   THIS    AND    COMING    GENERATIONS 
T  H  0    M  A  Y     B  E     D  E  8  I  R  0  T:  S     OF     KNOWING 
TEE  INCIDENTS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE    ORIGIN  OF  THEIR   TOTTN 
THEIR,   FATHERS    AND    MOTHERS   OF   THE    KARLY    TIME3   Livrp 

JI  O  AV     7  H  K  Y     TOIL  K  O  ;     H  O  W     T  K  K  \    8  T  R  U  OGLED, 

AND    HOW    THKY    CONQ.UERKP    THK    WILDERNESS    AND    ITS    DIFFICULTIES, 
TO   LEAVE  1'OE  THKIR    DKSCJENDANTS 

THF   PLEASANT  VILLAGE  HOMES  ANT)  CULTIVATED   FARMS 
THKY    NOW    ENJOY, 

Ctitf    PjJSorK  it  BesptctfuUiJ   Brlifcatc^, 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


A  PREFACE,  which  can  only  be  necessary  for  explanation  of 
matters  which  otherwise  might  not  be  clear  to  the  reader,  or  of 
matters  which  might  not  otherwise  be  so  fully  appreciated,  to  be 
good  for  anything,  should  never  be  touched  till  the  last  line  of 
the  book  to  which  it  is  attached  has  been  written.  And  having 
completed  our  task  of  writing  u  History  of  Montpelier,  accord 
ing  to  the  best  of  our  humble  abilities,  with  our  means  of  infor 
mation  and  tin'  lime  we  could  bestow  upon  it,  we  now  sit  down 
to  write  a  brief  preface,  both  explanatory  and  apologetic— to 
explain  and  designate  our  means  of  information  on  the  subjects 
introduced  and  discussed,  and  render  our  excuse  for  having  per 
formed  the  literary  part  of  our  task  so  imperfectly. 

Having.  when  Xadock  Thompson  had  his  Gazetteer  of  Ver 
mont  in  preparation,  undertaken,  at  his  request,  to  furnish  a  brief 
history  of  Montpelier.  we  visited,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
materials  for  that  task,  the  most  intelligent  survivors  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Montpelier  and  the  neighboring  towns,  and  made  min 
utes  of  the  facts  and  incidents  which  we  condensed  into  the  brief 
sketch  of  the  town  that  appears  in  that  work,  together  with  many 
more  which  the  space  allowed  us  would  not  permit  of  being  in 
troduced.  Among  the  best  informed  of  the  men  thus  consulted 
wore  JAMES  SAWYER,  Col.  CYRUS  JOHNSON,  /ACHARIAK  PERRIN, 
and  others  of  the  first  settlers  of  Berlin  ;  Hon.  SETII  PUTNAM 
of  Middlesex,  and  JOHN  TAPLIN,  Esq.,  CLARK  STEVENS,  and 
(ren.  PEARLY  DAVIS  of  Montpelier,  who  were  considered  the 
best  historians  of  the  first  settlement  then  living.  And  to  the 
facts  and  representations  then  derived  from  these  well-informed 
and  reliable  men,  and  especially  General  Davis,  Judge  Putnam 
and  Esquire  Taplin,  who  had  been  leading  men  in  the  public 


PREFACE.  V 

affairs  of  the  early  times,  we  have  been  indebted  not  only  for 
much  correct  information,  which,  as  they  have  all  since  passer! 
.way,  could  not  now  have  been  obtained,  but  for  our  conceptions 
of  the  true  character  of  those  times,  and  of  the  characters,  hab 
it?  and  springs  of  action  of  the  hardy  men  who  figured  therein. 
With  these  important  advantages  we  commenced  the  present 
work.  But  feeling1  that  we  had  only  entered  the  Held  to  ha 
explored,  we  begun  our  investigations  anew.  And  besides  ex 
amining  all  the  written  and  published  evidence  to  be  found, 
which  had  any  reference  to  the  subject  on  hand,  we  at  once 
commenced  a  scries  of  personal  visits  to  all  the  still  remaining 
survivors  of  the  first  settlement  in  Montpelier  and  the  neighbor 
ing  towns,  that  we  might  take  down  from  their  own  lips  that 
oral  testimony  of  general  facts,  particular  incidents,  personal 
descriptions  and  the  current  opinions  and  notions  of  the  men 
and  times  of  which  they  spoke,  and  which  could  alone  enable  u? 
to  give  a  true  and  just  picture  of  those  men  and  times.  Among 
the  principal  persons  thus  visited  and  consulted  are  Thomas  Da 
vis,  Jonathan  Shepard,  Mrs.  Marsh,  the  widow  of  the  late  Wil 
liam  Marsh.  Mrs.  Brooks,  widow  of  the  la;e  Lemuel  Brooks,  and 
Mr.  Levi  Humphrey,  who  died  September  1859,  about  a  fortnight 
after  our  interview  with  him, — all  of  Montpelier,  Mr.  Elisba 
Cummins  of  East  Montpelier,  Rev.  James  llobart,  Simeon  Dowey, 
Esq.,  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Jones,  widow  of  the  late  Major  Jones,  of 
Berlin,  and  Captain  Holden  Putnam  and  Mrs.  Warren,  widow  of 
the  late  Lovell  Warren,  of  Middlesex.  From  these  persons, 
all  bordering  the  age  of  ninety,  and  several  of  them  from  two 
to  five  years  older,  we  have  gained  much  of  the  additional  infor 
mation  we  needed  to  make  out  a  full  and  reliable  account  of  the 
first  dozen  years  of  the  settlement.  And  for  much  we  have  em 
bodied  connected  with  the  period  immediately  succeeding  1800, 
we  acknowledge  our  indebtedness  to  the  Hon.  Geo.  Worthing- 
ton  and  Mrs.  Clarissa  Worthington.  the  venerable  Capt.  Jewett, 
the  Hon.  Daniel  Baldwin,  the  Hon.  Joseph  Howes  and  Mr. 


vi  PREFACE. 

Samuel  Goss,  of  Montpelier.  And  to  these  we  should,  perhaps, 
add  Gen.  Sylvester  Churchill  of  U.  S.  Army,  who,  having  resid 
ed  here  at  the  time  the  first  State  House  was  built,  has  furnished 
some  interesting  incidents  of  that  period. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  the  sources  and  means  of  our  information 
have  been  good,  and  we  have  spared  no  time  or  pains  in  availing 
ourself  of  them  to  the  best  advantage. 

But  we  cannot  say  as  much  for  the  manner  in  which  we  have 
elaborated  and  brought  out  the  materials  of  the  work.  There 
was  scarcely  a  day  during  the  time  we  were  engaged  in.  th« 
composition  of  the  work,  in  which  we  were  not  compelled  to 
drop  our  pen  and  go  abroad  to  ascertain  from  old  living  witness 
es,  family  records  or  books,  or  pamphlets  out  of  print,  some  fact, 
circumstance  or  date,  which  we  found  it  necessary  or  desirous  to 
introduce.  This  nor  only  greatly  limited  the  time  we  had  to 
bestow  on  the  composition  of  the  book,  but  had  the  tendency  to 
disturb  the  keeping,  ease  and  harmony  of  the  style,  and  in  ninny 
instances  to  cause  it  to  be  left  imperfect.  For  these  reasons,  \vo 
must  ask  the  indulgence  of  the  reader  in  making  all  the  allow 
ance  for  the  literary  execution  of  the  work,  to  which  the  cir 
cumstances  may  entitle  him. 

Jn  regard  to  the  biographical  sketches,  which  arc  now  made 
to  constitute  a  considerable  portion  of  the  work,  it  may,  per 
haps,  be  proper  to  remark,  that  they  have  been  extended  in  num 
ber,  and  in  the  length  of  most  of  them,  much  farther  than  we 
oginally  designed  :  For,  on  investigating  the  facts  and  events 
connected  with  the  public  and  private  lives  of  the  individuals 
whose  characters  have  been  sketched,  we  found  many  matters  of 
historical  interest  which,  had  we  discovered  them  before,  we 
should  have  inserted  in  the  body  of  the  work,  and  which,  deem 
ing;  our  history  incomplete  without  them,  we  have  taken  this 

method  to  add  to  it. 

D.  P.  THOMPSON. 

MONTPELIER,  August,  1860. 


OOTVTETVTS. 


CHAPTER  1. 

'1  he  location  of  the  town  iu  latitude,  longitude  anil  altitude  above  the  oceau — Origin  of 
the  name  of  the  town— of  the  names  of  the  rivers  bordering  the  township — The 
physical  or  geological  features  of  its  location.  y 

CHAPTER    II. 

Proprietary  History  of  the  Township — First  and  Second  Charters — Meetings  of  the 
Proprietors — Divisions  and  allotments.  'JO 

CHAPTER  111. 

The  first  settlement  of  the  town  and  attending  incidents — The  ILr.st  Log  House — Fell 
ing  the  Forests — First  crop,  and  primitive  manner  of  living  the  first  season — Fish. 
Game,  &c.  38 

CHAPTER  IV. 

'the  first  settlements  and  attending  incidents  continued — The  first  Mills — Frame  houses 
— Anecdotes  of  persons  and  events  illustrative  of  the  times.  4fj 

CHAPTER  A*. 

The  Organization  of  the  Town — First  Town  Meeting — List  of  its  fif.-t  voters,  and  con 
tinuation  of  its  Municipal  history  for  the  first  twelve  years.  ,38 

CHAPTER  A' I. 

Clearing  up  of  the  forest  lands — Persevering  industry  of  the  settlers— Their  habits  of 
economy— Their  thrift,  independence  and  general  character  for  virtue  and  intelli 
gence.  74 

CHAPTER  VII. 

First  Military  Company — Town  Library — General  healthiness  of  the  Town— Deaths 
and  Births  enumerated  up  to  1800 — First  Schools — First  Merchants — Mechanics 
and  Professional  Men.  83 

CHAPTER  VI 11. 

Growth  of  the  Village — Educational  Interests — Epidemics — Ecclesiastical  Affairs— 
Newspapers — The  Town  made  the  Seat  of  Government — Alteration  of  Count} 
lines  and  the  Town  embraced  in  the  new  County  of  Jefferson,  and  made  the 
shire.  94 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Increase  of  the  Village  immediately  subsequent  to  the  location  of  the  Seat  of  Govern 
ment  here — Opening  of  State  Street — First  4th  of  July  Celebrations — Building  of 
the  State  House — First  Election  Day — Great  AVar  Meeting  of  1812  illustrative  of 
the  party  feeling  of  that  period.  108 

CHAPTER  X. 

Inventors— -Improvements- — Novel  Enterprises—The  Arermont  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  and  Bank  of  Montpelier.  118 


VI J I  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Concluding  view  of  the  Village  for  the  period  from  1800  to  1830 — Slate  uf  Moral*  and 
their  reformation — Trade,  its  irregularities  and  reformation — The  money  making 
period.  12K 

CHAPTER  XII. 

New  Institutions  established  between  1830  and  1860 — Foundery — Factories-— .Banks — 
Insurance  Companies — Telegraph  and  Express  Offices  opened — Fire  Department 
— New  Cemetery — Union  School — Opening  of  Rail  Roads  and  their  effects — Di 
vision  of  the  Town.  K>T; 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Vires,  Floods  and  their  casualties,  together  with  a  list  and  description  of  other  fatal 
casualties,  from  nil  causes,  in  Milage  and  Town  since  the  settlement.  147 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Intellectual  and  moral  standards  among  the  people — Literature  of  the  Town — Olh'ces 
held  by  citizens  of  the  Village  and  Town — Concluding  Reflections.  UjO 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 

l'a«r.  !>**. 

Col.  Jacob  Davis,         -        -  -          109  Hon.  Cyrus  Ware,       -        -  221 

Mrs.  Rebecca  Davis,       -  -               174  Hon.  Salvin  Collins,       -  '2'2~> 

Hon.  David  Wing,  Jr.,  17-5  Capt.  Timothy  Hubbard,    -  22s 

Clark  Stevens,        -  178  Gen.  Ezekiel  P.  Walton,         -  232 

Elder  Ziba  Woodworth,  181  Calvin  J.  Keith,          -  238 

John  Taplin,  Esq.,  18,3  Hczekiah  H.  Reed,  2-11 

Dr.  Edward  Lamb,  190  Dr.  James  Spaldinir,  -  2-M 

Gen.  Pearley  Davis,         -  191  Col.  J.  P.  Miller,    -  219 

Rev.  Chester  Wright,         -  -          198  Hon.  William  Upham.  203 

Col.  James  H.  Langdon,  -         -      204  Mrs.  Sarah  Upham.         -                  -      2C8 

Hon.  Jeduthun  Loomis,  208  Hon.  Joseph  Reed,     •  269 

Hon.  Timothy  Merrill,   -  -      211  Hon.  Samuel  Prentiss,   -  27t; 

Hon.  F.  F.  Merrill,     -         -  -           214  Mrs.  Lucretia  Preuti^,  2*J 

Hon.  Araunah  Waterman,  21<! 


Appendix. 


ERRATA. 


Besides  a  few  typographical  errors  which  the  eye  of  the  reader  will  naturally  cor 
rect,  there  are  two  so  much  affecting  the  sense  that  we  are  unwilling  they  should  pass 
without  being  pointed  out : 

Page  155,  about  midway,  on  the  subject  of  floods,  &c.,  read  quantity,  not  quality. 

"    224,  top  line,  in  the  sketch  of  Judge  Ware,  re&&  fertile,  not  futile. 
The  Christian  name  of  General  Davis  was  always  written,  by  himself  and  others  of 
his  times,  Parley,  and  was  intended  so  to  have  been  put  in  type  in  this  work,  till  to  5 
is.te  to  make  the  change. 


HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER, 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  OF  THE  TOWN.  THE  NAMES  OF  THE  RIV 
ERS  BORDERING  IT.  —  THE  PHYSICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES 
OF  ITS  LOCATION. 

On  the  sinuous  banks  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  mountain- 
burn  Winooski,  amidst  the  clustering  confluences  of  its  chief 
tributaries,  in  latitude  44°  17',  longitude  4°  25'  from  Washing 
ton,  and  at  an  altitude  of  540  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean, 
lies,  snugly  embosomed  among  the  hills,  in  the  heart  of  tlie  Green 
Mountains,  the  flourishing  and  important  interior  town  of  which 
I  have  undertaken  to  give  the  history,  under  the  unusual  name 
of  MONTPELIER. 

As  enquiries  respecting  the  origin  of  a  name  so  peculiar  as  the 
one  bestowed  on  this  town  will  here  very  naturally  arise  in  the 
mind  of  the  reader,  and  some  explanation  as  naturally  be  looked 
for  in  a  work  of  this  character,  I  will  endeavor  to  meet  this,  and 
other  anticipated  queries  of  the  kind,  at  the  outset. 

The  name  in  question  was  bestowed  by  Colonel  Jacob  Davis, 
a  leading  proprietor,  and  the  first  permanent  settler  of  the  town. 
The  Colonel  being  a  man  of  an  independent  and  originating 
mind,  and  consequently  one  of  those  who  are  not  to  be  led  by 
the  examples  and  customs  of  others  any  farther  than  found  con 
sonant  with  their  own  notions,  had  noticed,  with  dislike,  the  pro 
pensity  of  the  proprietors  of  most  of  the  townships  of  the  State 
to  bestow  on  their  respective  grants  the  names  of  the  towns  in 
the  old  States  where  they  resided,  or  with  which  they  were  in 
some  way  associated  ;  and  he,  therefore,  resolved  to  have  a  new 
name  for  the  township  in  which  he  was  interested — one  which 
should  not  be  obnoxious  to  the  imputation  of  such  servility  as 
had  been  shown  in  the  naming  of  other  towns  in  the  new  State, 
and  one,  at  the  same  time,  which  should  obviate  the  inconven 
ience  and  confusion  that  he  foresaw  must  some  day  arise  in  con 
sequence  of  having  so  many  places  of  the  same  name  in  one 
confederacy.  And  in  casting  about  for  such  a  name  as  he  would 
be  willing  to  appropriate  for  the  purpose,  he  thought  of  the  city 
of  France  bearing  the  name  of  Montpelier,  a  word  originally 


10  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

compounded,  perhaps,  of  Mont,  a  hill  or  mountain,  and  peller, 
bare  or  shorn,  and  first  bestowed  on  account  of  some  bare  eleva 
tion  at  or  near  the  site  of  that  city.  But  however  that  may  be, 
the  name,  the  more  particular  applicability  of  which  for  the  name 
of  a  town  among;  the  mountains  was  suggested  by  the  first  part 
of  the  word,  seemed  to  strike  the  fancy  and  meet  the  require 
ments  of  the  Colonel ;  and  proposing  it  to  his  fellow  petitioners 
for  the  proposed  grant  of  a  township  here,  it  was  at  once  adopt 
ed,  the  name  of  Montpelier  inserted  in  the  petition  to  the  Legis 
lature,  and  the  grant  made  accordingly.* 

Next  to  the  name  of  the  town,  the  name  of  the  important 
river  that  bounds  or  passes  through  the  borders  of  more  than 
half  the  town,  together  with  those  of  the  four  of  its  principal 
tributaries  which  enter  it  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  or  dur 
ing  its  long,  winding  course  around  it,  demands  from  us,  we 
think,  something  more  than  a  passing  notice.  This  river,  previ 
ous  to  the  settlement  of  the  part  of  the  country  through  which  it 
runs,  was  mostly  known  to  people  abroad  by  the  name  of  French 
River.  This  fact  we  not  only  learn  from  tradition,  but  from  the 
terms  used  in  bounding  the  other  towns  bordering  on  this  stream, 
in  whose  charters,  issued  by  the  royal  Governor  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  nearly  twenty  years  before  that  of  Montpelier,  the  words 
"  Frencli  or  Onion  river"  may  be  found.  The  name  was  doubt 
less  derived  from  the  well  known  fact  that,  during  the  old  French 
wars  in  this  country,  the  French  and  Indians  made  the  valley  of 
this  stream  their  principal  route  in  their  predatory  excursions 
from  Canada  to  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  Hampshire  and 
Massachusetts  ;  while  the  hunting  and  trapping  stations  which 
the  French  subsequently  established  along  the  banks  of  the  river, 
in  consequence  of  their  knowledge  of  the  localities  thus  obtain 
ed,  and  to  which  they,  for  years  after,  continued  to  resort,  con- 
tributed  to  confirm  and  prolong  the  use  of  the  appellation  among 
the  English  colonists  of  New  England.  But  when  this  section 
began  to  be  explored  with  the  view  of  settlement,  the  explorers 
found  everywhere  growing  along  the  banks  of  this  river  great 
quantities  of  leeks,  or  wild  onions,  which  soon  led  to  the  discov 
ery  of  the  Indian  name  of  the  river,  or  rather  the  land  border 
ing  upon  it,  Winooski,  a  name  composed  of  two  words  of  the 
Algonquin  language,  winoos,  onions,  and  ki,  land.  The  true 
signification  of  the  term,  therefore,  as  applied  to  the  stream, 


*  My  authority  for  this  statement  respecting  the  naming  of  the  town  is  derived  from 
the  Hon.  George  Worthing  ton,  who  married  Clarissa,  the  youngest  daughter  of  C^l. 
Davis,  and  the  first  child  born  in  the  town.  Mr.  W.  well  remembers  being  in  company 
among  others  with  the  Colonel,  when  the  latter  was  asked  how  the  town  came  to  be 
named  Montpelier,  and  that  he  then,  by  way  of  reply,  made  the  statement  I  have,  in 
substance,  above  given. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  11 

would  be  Onion  Land  River.  The  French,  through  whom  we 
obtained  the  word,  pronounced  it  Wenooskee,  the  i  taking  the 
sound  of  our  e.  But  as  the  Indians  would  give  the  same  sound 
to  the  i  that  we  do,  I  do  not  perceive  the  propriety  of  our  fol 
lowing  the  French  pronunciation  of  the  name,  especially  while 
the  original  Indian  pronunciation  must  be  nearly  or  entirely  con 
sonant  with  that  of  our  own  language.  There  is  a  literary  snob 
bishness  of  our  times  that  affects  the  French  sound  of  the  vowels 
in  all  possible  cases.  It  is  proper,  perhaps,  that  we  should  retain 
the  French  pronunciation  in  all  the  words  we  adopt  from  that 
language,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  we  should  try  to  Frenchify 
everything;. 

I  cannot  forbear,  in  passing,  to  express  a  regret  that  the  prac 
tical  tastes  and  common-place  notions  of  our  first  settlers  should 
have  so  far  governed  them,  in  respect  to  this  name,  as  to  have 
led  them  generally  to  adopt  the  homely  translation  instead  of  the 
poetic  original.  The  Indian  names  are  not  like  most  of  ours, 
arbitrary  and  inexpressive,  but  ever  have  their  significations. 
This  of  itself  is  a  beauty.  It  ensures,  also,  the  applicability  of 
the  name  to  the  thing.  And  as  the  appropriation  of  these  abo 
riginal  appellations  would  have  furnished  us  with  sonorous  and  ex 
pressive  names  for  our  streams,  lakes,  mountains,  &c.,  besides  ob 
viating  the  inconvenience  ever  experienced  from  duplicating  our 
common  ones,  it  is  much  to  be  regretted,  we  think,  that  they  had 
not  been  more  generally  ascertained  and  scrupulously  adopted. 
The  writer  of  these  pages  well  remembers  having  had,  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  a  conversation  with  his  friend  and  namesake, 
though  no  relative,  the  late  Zadock  Thompson,  on  this  subject 
generally,  but  in  reference  more  particularly  to  the  name  of  the 
river  now  under  consideration,  when  we  mutually  agreed  that 
we  would  do  what  we  could  towards  restoring  the  Indian  name. 
That  eminent  historian  and  naturalist,  of  whom  the  State  may 
well  be  proud,  has  done  much  towards  effecting  this  object,  es 
pecially  among  the  people  of  Chittenden  County,  embracing  the 
lower  portion  of  the  river,  where  it  is  now  very  generally  called 
Winooski ;  shall  not  the  surviving  party  to  the  agreement  bo 
aided  in  completing  that  object,  by  restoring  the  name  also  among 
the  people  of  Washington  County,  within  which  the  stream  col 
lects  the  great  body  of  its  waters  ?  Let  its  name  never  more  be 
written  otherwise  than  Winooski. 

Of  the  four  tributaries  of  the  Winooski,  before  mentioned,  the 
first,  when  taken  in  order,  in  ascending  the  main  stream,  is  Dog 
River )  which,  rising  in  Roxbury  and  Northfield,  enters  it  from 
the  west  part  of  Berlin,  about  a  mile  below  Montpelier  village. 
The  name  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  white  pioneer 


12  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER. 

hunters  had  the  misfortune  to  catch  his  dog  in  a  trap  set  for 
beaver  or  otter  in  the  edge  of  the  stream,  when  the  animal,  in 
his  struggles  to  escape,  was  drowned.  The  manner  by  which 
this  name  was  derived  from  the  circumstance  just  named  was  cer 
tainly  not  quite  so  forced  as  that  by  which  the  wit  derived  the 
name  of  the  British  orator,  Fox,  from  rainy  day — "  rainy  day — 
rain  hard — reynard — Fox.  But  the  process  by  which  the  subju 
gates,  varying  and  abreviated  from  time  to  time,  finally  settled 
down  into  the  name  seems,  nevertheless,  to  have  been  a  little 
awkward.  It  probably  began  and  proceeded  somewhat  thus  : 
7 he  river  where  the  hunter  lost  his  dog- — the  river  of  the  lost  dog- — 
the  lost  dog-  river — DOG  RIVER.  It  could  have  been  wished  that 
this  river  had  received  a  more  appropriate  and  dignified  name. 
It  is  surely  deserving  of  one  ;  for  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  streams,  of  its  size,  in  the  whole  country,  being 
surpassed  by  no  other  for  the  coolness,  purity  and  crystal  clear 
ness  of  its  waters,  which  have  ever  made  it,  from  the  earliest 
settlement  of  the  country  to  the  present  day,  the  favorite  resort 
of  the  fastidious  trout. 

The  next  tributary  in  order  is  the  Little  North  Branch,  which, 
coming  in  on  the  opposite  side,  gathers  most  of  its  waters  in 
Worcester,  gains  some  additions  in  East  Middlesex,  and  passes 
through  the  midst  of  Montpelier  village,  within  which  it  enters 
the  river.  The  reason  why  this  was  called  the  Little  North 
Branch  is  not  now  very  apparent,  for  it  is  not  the  least  North 
Branch  of  the  Winooski,  the  lesser  one  coming  in  about  seven 
miles  further  up  the  river.  It  was  probably  so  called,  however, 
in  contrast  with  the  principal  stream,  which  here  begins  to  wind 
round  the  town  from  a  northerly  direction.  But  the  impropriety 
of  the  term  has  latterly  been  obviated  by  the  now  more  generally 
used  name  of  the  Worcester  Branch. 

The  third  tributary  in  order  is  Stevens  Branch^  which,  start 
ing  within  the  borders  of  Williamstown,  Washington  and  Orange, 
and  draining  the  town  of  Barre  and  the  east  part  of  Berlin, 
enters  the  river,  in  the  last  named  town,  at  the  great  northern 
bend  about  two  miles  above  Montpelier  village.  The  name  of 
this  quiet  stream  was  derived  from  a  singular  casualty,  which 
may  well  be  ranked  among  the  incidents  composing  the  romance 
of  our  early  history.  A  reputable  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Stevens,  residing  in  Corinth,  when  that  was  a  frontier  town  bor 
dering  the  great  wilderness  thence  to  Lake  Champlain,  was 
engaged  in  marriage  to  a  girl  of  the  same  town,  who,  from  fick 
leness  or  some  unwarranted  freak  of  jealousy,  broke  her  plighted 
faith,  and  suddenly  married  another.  This  so  wrought  on  the 
mind  and  feelings  of  Stevens  that  he  soon  resolved  to  banish 


HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER.  18 

himself  from  society  into  the  lone  forests,  never  more  to  return. 
Accordingly,  throwing  up  his  business,  which  was  that  of  a  house- 
carpenter,  he  provided  himself  with  gun,  traps,  and  other  things 
composing  the  hunter's  outfit,  and  having  made  his  way  to  the 
nearest  part  of  the  Winooski,  established  his  camp  on  the  east- 
bank  of  the  stream  that  subsequently  took  his  name,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  its  mouth,  on  the  farm  occupied,  for  the 
first  forty  years  of  the  present  century,  by  Daniel  Thompson,  the 
father  of  the  writer  of  these  pages.  This  was,  as  has  been  sup 
posed,  in  early  autumn  ;  and  nothing  more  was  heard  from  him 
until  the  following  spring,  when  two  hunters,  passing  that  way, 
found  his  dead  body  near  his  camp,  in  a  situation  which  pretty 
plainly  indicated  the  circumstances  which  must  have  attended  his 
melancholy  exit.  An  old  tree  had  fallen  lengthwise  the  bank  of 
the  stream,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  wharting  to  the  deep,  circular 
eddy  here  formed  by  an  abrupt  turn  of  the  current  above.  A 
few  feet  in  the  rear  of  this  fallen  tree  the  body  was  found,  with 
one  hand  resting  on  a  fishing-pole,  with  a  half  rotted  fish-line  at 
tached,  and  extending  across  the  log  over  the  waters.  Within 
about  a  rod  of  the  body  stood  a  hunter's  camp,  containing  a  gun, 
hatchet,  traps,  and  a  blanket  spread  over  the  usual  bough-bed. 
Before  the  camp  lay  the  charred  remains  of  a  fire,  over  which 
was  suspended,  from  a  cross-bar  or  pole  lying  in  upright  crotches, 
a  camp  kettle  half  filled  with  herbs  and  water ;  while  on  a  sharp 
knot,  projecting  from  a  spruce  tree  standing  near  by  were  found 
hanging  a  few  mink  skins,  and  other  small  peltries.  He  had  ev 
idently  been  seized  with  sickness,  superinduced  probably  by 
despondency ,  and  here,  in  a  last  effort  to  procure  a  fish  to  sus 
tain  life,  while  his  herb  tea  was  steeping,  his  strength  had  entirely 
failed  him,  and,  with  none  to  aid  or  nurse  him,  and  no  friendly 
eye  to  witness  his  death  struggles,  he  had  breathed  his  last  alone 
in  the  dark  wilderness.  The  exact  spot  where  the  hunter-  buried 
him  was  not  known  till  about  the  year  1806,  when  Mr.  Thomp 
son,  in  plowing  up  a  spot  from  which  he  had  removed  an  old 
hedge  fence,  turned  out  his  bones.  I,  then  a  small  boy,  was 
present  on  the  occasion,  and  the  sensation  which  the  sight  of 
these  remains,  as  they  were  thrown  out  by  the  deep  furrow  that 
was  made  lengthwise  through  them,  with  the  rust-eaten  jack- 
knife  lying  in  the  midst,  palpably  to  view,  caused  it  to  become 
one  of  the  most  vivid  of  my  early  recollections,  and  subsequently 
led  me  to  make  minute  enquiries  of  the  oldest  settlers  in  all  that 
related  to  the  unfortunate  hunter.  And  it  was  from  their  con 
current  testimony,  and  particularly  that  of  Grandmother  Fowler, 
as  she  was  called,  who  was  the  wife  of  Jacob  Fowler,  the  old 
hunter  and  first  permanent  settler  of  Berlin,  and  who,  when  a 


14  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

girl,  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  with  young1  Stevens,  that 
these  particulars  were  derived.* 

The  fourth  and  upper  great  tributary  of  the  Winooski  is 
King-sbury's  Branch,  which,  after  draining  most  of  the  numerous 
ponds  of  Woodburv  and  Calais,  enters  the  river  in  the  north 
easterly  corner  of  the  town.  Its  name  was  derived  from  that  of 
an  early  settler  living  on  the  stream.  And  for  the  particulars  of 
the  naming  I  am  more  especially  indebted  to  A.  J.  Sibley,  Esq., 
of  North  Montpelier,  who,  having  investigated  the  subject,  writes 
rue  :  "  There  was  once  a  man  who  lived  in  Woodburv,  (but  now 
lives  in  Goshen  Gore,)  very  near  this  branch,  and  used  to  fish  in 
it  a  great  deal,  and  call  it  his  branch  ;  and  after  calling  it  his 
branch  lor  many  years,  it  became  a  name  for  everybody,  who 
thenceforward  called  it  Kingsbury's  Branch." 

This  completes  our  account  of  the  four  great  tributaries  that 
enter  the  Winooski  in  and  around  Montpelier,  more  than  doub- 
liug  it  in  size.  These  four  streams,  except  the  one  last  described, 
which  is  perceptibly  smaller  than  the  three  others,  are  so  nearly 
alike  in  size  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  decide  which  discharges 
the  greatest  average  volume  of  water  into  the  main  river. 

Here  the  Winooski,  after  having  wound,  like  a  serpent, 
round  half  this  town,  and  gathered  in  its  course  the  tribute  of 
these  streams,  seems  to  start  off  direct,  in  its  accumulated 
strength,  and  sweep  on.  in  an  almost  straight  line,  to  the  beauti 
ful  border  lake,  into  which  it  disembogues  its  mountain  waters. 
This  river  is  the  largest,  and,  considering  its  course  almost 
through  all  the  central  portion  of  the  State,  and  the  immense 
number  of  mill  privileges  it  furnishes,  quite  the  most  important 
river  of  the  State.  The  Vermont  Gazetteer  ranks  the  four  lar 
gest  rivers  of  the  State,  with  their  relative  sizes  computed  from 
the  number  of  square  miles  they  respectively  drain,  as  follows  : 
The  Winooski  draining  970  square  miles,  the  Otter  900,  the 
White  680,  and  the  Missisco  582  square  miles.  This  method  of 
computing  the  size  of  rivers  might  not  be  very  accurate  when 
comparing  the  rivers  of  one  country  with  those  of  another,  since 
some  rivers  flow  through  a  long  stretch  of  country  after  gaining 
nearly  their  full  size,  which  would,  of  course,  greatly  increase 
the  area  they  may  be  said  to  drain  ;  while  others  terminate  al 
most  as  soon  as  they  acquire  their  greatest  volume,  and  therefore 
draw  their  water  from  a  much  smaller  compass.  But  it  is  the 


*  The  Vermont  Gazetteer,  under  the  head  of  Berlin,  states,  in  regard  to  this  inci 
dent,  that  the  bones  of  Stevens  were  discovered  by  Mr.  Thompson  in  1812.  in  digging 
a  ditch.  There  are  two  errors  in  this  statement  :  the  bones  were  found  about  a  half 
dozen  years  earlier  ;  and  they  were  plowed  out  of  a  dry  piece  of  ground  from  which  an 
old  log  and  bush  fence  had  just  been  removed.  They  were  reinterred  near,  but  the  ex 
act  place  is  again  lost. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  15 

most  accurate  method  yet  known ;  and,  so  far  as  regards  our 
Vermont  rivers,  must  give  their  comparative  sizes  with  a  very 
close  approximation  to  exactness.  1  have  measured  over  the 
areas  drained  by  these  rivers,  on  our  best  maps,  and  cannot  but 
think  that,  in  case  of  the  Winooski,  the  author  of  the  Gazetteer, 
who  probably  computed  by  right  line  parallelograms,  must  have 
omitted  the  measurement  of  several  irregularly  shaped  gores  of 
land  shooting  out  considerably  beyond  the  general  outline  of  the 
tributaries,  such  as  those  drained  by  the  upper  portions  of  Hun- 
tington  and  Waterbury  rivers ;  and  he  thereby  made  the  area 
drained  by  the  river  in  question  at  least  thirty  square  miles  too 
small.  I  cannot  make  the  true  area  drained  by  this  stream  to  be 
less  than  one  thousand  square  miles.  Its  length,  from  its  mouth 
to  the  head  of  its  most  distant  source,  in  the  town  of  Walden, 
is,  when  measured  on  the  stream,  nearer  ninety  miles  than  the 
seventy  given  for  it  in  the  Gazetteer.  By  the  travelled  roads 
nearest  the  stream,  the  distance  between  these  two  points  is  about 
seventy-five  miles,  and  nearly  ten  more  should  be  allowed,  prob 
ably,  for  the  short  turns  and  windings  of  the  river.  The  true 
head  of  this  river,  however,  is  in  the  Peacham,  or  Winooski 
Pond.  Those  who  will  go  to  the  junction  of  the  Cabot  branch 
and  the  outlet  of  Peacham  Pond,  cannot  fail  to  perceive,  after  a 
few  fairly  made  observations,  that  the  latter  discharges  the  great 
est  average  volume  of  water,  and  should  therefore  be  considered 
the  main  stream,  and  bear  the  name  of  Winooski  to  its  true  head 
in  Peacham  Pond,  which  should  also  take  the  same  name.  From 
the  source  of  the  inlet  of  this  pond,  through  the  pond,  down  the 
tortuous  outlet,  and  then  down  the  river  to  its  mouth,  would 
probably  be  about  seventy-five  miles. 

The  geological  formation  of  the  township  of  Montpelier  is 
mainly  slate  and  limestone,  prevailing  separately  and  wholly  in  a 
few  localities,  but  perhaps  more  generally  alternating  on  the  same 
piece  of  ground,  and  mingled.with  other  substances,  such  as  talc, 
mica,  hornblend,  <tc.  The  crumbling  and  pulverization  of  in 
termingled  slate  and  lime  compose,  perhaps,  the  best  and  most 
durable  soils  to  be  found ;  and  this  will  account  for  the  excel 
lence  of  the  soil  of  the  town  of  Montpelier,  and  that  of  the 
other  towns  in  Washington  County  of  like  formation. 

The  site  of  Montpelier  was  evidently  once  the  bed  of  a  lake 
over  one  hundred  feet  deep.  The  well  defined  strata  of  earth 
marked  on  all  the  surrounding  hills,  and  showing  the  gradual 
subsidence  of  the  waters,  are  too  palpable  to  leave  any  rational 
doubt  of  the  fact.  A  lake  of  this  depth  here  would  send  its  wa 
ters  up  the  valley  of  Dog  River  to  Northfield  or  Roxbury  ;  up 
the  Little  North  Branch  to  the  further  part  of  Worcester ;  up 


16  HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER. 

Stevens  Branch  nearly  to  the  borders  of  Williamstown ;  and  up 
the  main  river  to  Plainfield  ;  while  its  downward  or  western  limit 
was  probably  the  rocky  barrier  at  the  place  now  known  as  Mid 
dlesex  Narrows.  This  would  make  a  branchy  lake,  measuring 
through  its  longest  extremities  nearly  twenty  miles  in  length,  of 
a  breadth  varying  from  one  to  two  miles,  and  forming  a  body  of 
mountain  waters  which  must  have  been  singularly  irregular  in 
outline,  and  highly  picturesque  in  appearance.  The  summit  level 
of  this  lake  wras  doubtless  the  sandy  plain  above  the  village  of 
Montpelier,  now  generally  known  by  the  designation  of  the 
Washington  County  Fair  Ground.  This  plain,  or  plateau,  as 
may  be  read  in  the  strata  on  its  borders,  dipping  at  a  small  angle 
to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  on  the  corresponding  sides,  was 
thrown  up  by  the  meeting  here  of  the  opposing  currents,  one  coin 
ing  down  the  northern  branch  of  the  lake  from  Worcester,  and 
the  other  coming  down  the  south-eastern  branch  from  Bar  re. 
These  opposing  currents  were  created  by  the  east  wind,  which, 
owing  to  the  differently  situated  mountain  barriers  over  which  it 
passes,  is  often  found  to  be  blowing  down  the  river  from  Barre, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  to  be  blowing  down  the  branch  from  Wor 
cester  ;  when,  meeting  here  from  almost  opposite  directions,  they 
unite  and  pass  down  the  river.  The  southern  current,  having  a 
longer  and  less  confined  sweep,  and  being  therefore  a  little 
stronger,  would  naturally  be  forced  some  distance  along  the  basin- 
formed  hills  to  the  north,  and  there  being  brought  round  to  the 
direct  current  from  that  direction,  would  form  another  and  smal 
ler  plateau ;  and  just  such  a  plateau,  or  sand  shelf,  is  found  one 
mile  up  the  branch,  above  the  Poor  Farm,  on  what  is  called  the 
Somerby  Place.  If  there  was  a  small  side  current  on  the  other, 
or  south-western  side  of  the  lake,  it  must  have  struck  across  on 
to  Col.  Reed's  farm,  at  the  lower  end  of  the  village ;  and  there, 
also,  we  find  a  small  sand  or  loam  shelf  to  confirm  the  supposi 
tion,  in  the  shelfy  hill  rising  from  the  back  of  Col.  Reed's  house. 
Two  miles  above  Montpelier  village,  on  the  old  Jacob  Davis  Jr.'s 
farm,  and  on  the  part  now  owned  by  Mr.  J.  Douglass,  there  is 
another  distinctly  marked  sandy  plateau,  of  about  the  same  di 
mensions  as  that  of  the  Fair  Ground.  This  plateau  is  situated 
at  the  exact  point  where  the  currents  from  the  Barre  and  Plain- 
field  branches  of  the  lake  would  meet,  and  it  was  undoubtedly 
formed  by  them  in  a  similar  manner.  There  would  likewise  nat 
urally  be  something  of  the  same  effect  produced  where  the  Dog- 
River,  or  Northfield  branch  of  the  lake,  united  with  the  main 
body  of  the  water.  But  owing  to  the  angular  manner  in  which 
this  branch  would  come  in,  and  the  shape  of  the  surrounding  hills, 
the  current  must  have  shot  obliquely  across  the  present  bed  of 
the  river,  and  struck  the  opposite  hills  more  than  a  mile  down 


HISTORY    OF   MOXTPELIER.  17 

stream;  and  here  yet  again,  on  the  Erastus  Camp  farm,  rising  from 
his  saw-mill  on  the  brook  below,  is  to  be  found  another  corres 
ponding  sand  plain,  formed  in  the  same  manner  as  those  already 
described.  And  what  would  seem  to  be  a  demonstration  of  this 
theo?y  is  the  fact  that  the  summits,  or  surfaces,  of  all  these  re 
mark  able  plateaus  are  almost  exactly  on  the  same  general  level, 
which,  as  the  earth  would  not  be  likely  to  be  thrown  much  above 
the  surface  of  the  water,  may  safely  be  set  down,  also,  as  the 
highest  level  of  the  lake,  whose  average  depth  was  not  far  from 
one  hundred  feet  above  the  present  beds  of  the  rivers,  some  miles 
back  each  way  from  its  central  point  on  the  site  of  Montpelier 
village. 

The  manner  in  which  this  lake,  and  those  also  below  it,  were 
drained  off,  can  now  only  be  read  on  our  leaf  of  the  great  volume 
of  Nature,  where  earth's  great  changes  in  the  past  are  all  uner 
ringly  recorded,  for  the  reading  of  any  Geologist  who  has  thor 
oughly  mastered  her  language. 

There  is  much  geological  evidence  to  warrant  the  belief  that, 
within  a  comparatively  moderate  period,  a  great  change  lias  tak 
en  place  in  the  altitude  and  extent  of  Lake  Champlain  :  and  that, 
consequently,  all  the  lower  parts  of  Rutland,  Addison,  Chitten- 
den  and  Franklin  Counties,  must  have  once  been  covered  by  its 
wide  spreading  waters,  which,  on  this  supposition,  would  have 
flowed  back  to  the  foot  of  that  lowest  natural  pass  in  the  great 
western  range  of  the  Green  Mountains,  which  is  to  be  found  at 
Bolton  Narrows.  From  this  pass  to  Middlesex  Narrows,  there 
was  probably  an.  intermediate  lake,  covering  the  lower  grounds 
of  Waterbury,  parts  of  those  of  Duxbury,  Middlesex  and  More- 
town,  and  setting  up  the  valley  of  Mad  River  into  Waitsfield, 
making  this  lake,  at  Waterbury,  somewhat  deeper  than  the  one 
above,  as  may  indeed  be  found  indicated  by  the  greater  height  of 
the  sand  hill  east  of  Waterbury  village. 

Now,  the  falling  away  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain  must 
have  produced  a  powerful  suction  current  and  falls  at  Bolton. 
This  would,  sooner  or  later,  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  earth 
and  the  loosness  arid  depth  of  rocks  to  be  removed,  cut  down  a 
channel,  which  would  drain  oft*  this  intermediate  lake  up  to  the 
next  great  separating  barrier  at  Middlesex.  And  here  the  same 
process  would  be  passed  through,  until  the  upper  lake,  centering 
at  the  prospective  site  of  Montpelier,  would  be  drained  off,  in 
another  and  later  period  of  time,  like  the  one  below. 

The  natural  position  of  Montpelier  village,  which  was  the 
part  of  the  town  first  settled,  and  which,  in  point  of  population 
and  trade,  has  ever  since  continued  to  maintain  its  ascendency 
over  all  other  parts,  is,  in  almost  all  respects,  an  unusually  central 
one — more  so,  perhaps,  than  that  of  anv  other  interior  village 

a 


IS  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

in  New  England.  Besides  the  numerous  hill  roads,  the  great 
thoroughfares  of  five  or  six  productive  vallies  centre  at  this  fav 
ored  location — the  first  coming  in  along  the  Winooski  upward 
from  Middlesex,  where  it  is  united  with  Mad  River  valley,  and 
thus  made  the  conduit  for  the  products  and  trade  of  seven  good 
agricultural  townships ;  the  second  passing  down  the  valley  of 
Dog  River,  and  bringing  in  those  of  a  territory  equalling  at  least 
three  good  townships;  the  third  coming  in  down  the  Worcester 
branch,  with  those  of  two  or  more  townships  ;  the  fourth  enter 
ing  from  the  valley  of  Stevens  Branch,  with  those  of  about  five 
towns,  some  of  which  arc  among  the  best  farming  towns  in  the 
State  ;  and  the  fifth  coming  down  the  valley  of  the  Winooski, 
from  the  borders  of  Danville,  with  those  of  five  or  six  more 
towns  of  almost  equal  thrift  and  productiveness.  These  vallies 
are  not  limited  to  Washington  County,  but,  extending  into  the 
borders  of  Orange,  Caledonia  and  Lamoille  Counties,  form  nat 
ural  inlets  to  this  village,  radiating  out  from  the  place  to  an 
average  extent  of  nearly  twenty  miles  in  every  direction  around, 
and  comprising  au  area  of  about  seven  hundred  square  miles  of 
highly  productive  agricultural  territory,  whose  trade  Montpelier 
must  always  mainly  control.  These  great  natural  advantages 
sufficiently  account  for  the  steady  and  healthful  growth  of  this 
village,  from  its  first  settlement  to  the  present  time.  And  they 
well  warrant  the  expectation  of  an  equally  unvaried  continuance 
of  its  increase  and  progressive  prosperity,  until  it  shall  become 
one  of  the  most  populous  and  important  interior  towns  in  the 
whole  country. 

The  natural  site  of  this  village,  comprising  a  level  plain  of 
nearly  two  hundred  acres  of  the  richest  alluvial  land  to  be  found 
anywhere  in  Vermont,  and  being  everywhere  sheltered  from  the 
winds,  so  as  to  make  it  comparatively  warm  and  comfortable,  and 
being,  moreover,  situated  near  the  confluence  of  so  many  streams, 
favorable  for  hunting  or  fishing,  must  have  made  it,  as  it  doubt 
less  was,  the  favorite  residence,  or  resort,  of  the  original  inhab 
itants  of  the  forest,  who,  at  the  time  of  the  first  discovery  of 
Vermont  by  the  French  Nobleman,  Samuel  Champlain,  in  1609, 
and  probably  for  a  considerable  time  afterwards,  were  a  part  of 
the  powerful  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations,  though  the  latter  were 
probably  trespassers  on  the  territory  of  the  Abenaqus,  or  Cana 
dian  Indians,  who  eventually  expelled  them.  Evidence,  indeed, 
of  its  aboriginal  populousness  does  not  rest  wholly  on  tradition. 
Indian  mounds,  tomb-stones,  and  other  memorials  of  aboriginal 
life  and  death,  were  found  here,  or  in  the  vicinity,  by  the  first 
settlers,  and  traces  of  some  of  them  still  remain.  On  the  mead 
ow  of  the  old  Collins  Farm,  about  two  miles  below  Montpelier, 
was  found  what  was  evidently  an  Indian  mound.  Two  miles 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  1(J 

above  Montpelier,  on  one  of  the  lake-made  plateaus  before  de 
scribed,  were  found  the  remains  of  rude  Indian  pottery ;  and 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  the  village,  in  the  woods,  on  the 
old  Boyden  Farm,  a  large,  upright,  blue  lime-stone  which  was 
found  standing,  where  it  still  stands,  by  General  Davis  when  he 
first  made  lines  into  the  forest  in  laying  out  the  town.  It  was 
obviously  wrought  and  shaped  by  human  hands,  and  so  closely 
resembles  the  Indian  monuments  for  graves  to  be  seen  in  the  il 
lustrations  of  Schoolcraft  as  to  leave  little  doubt  that  it  was 
originally  erected  as  a  tomb-stone,  or  to  commemorate  some 
mournful  or  important  event.  And  historical  evidence,  indeed, 
of  the  aboriginal  populousness  and  savage  thrift  of  the  valley  of 
the  Winooski  River  is  by  no  means  wholly  wanting.  When 
Champlain,  who,  as  before  intimated,  was  the  first  white  man  to 
set  eyes  on  the  territory  now  known  as  Vermont,  and  who  virtu 
ally  gave  it  its  name,  by  pointing  it  out  to  his  companions,  from 
their  boat  in  the  mid-lake,  with  the  exclamation,  "  Verd  Monte  /" 
—when  that  enterprising  explorer  was  making  these  observations, 
his  red  attendants,  pointing  up  the  gorge  between  Camel's  Hump 
and  Mansfield  Mountain,  said  to  him  :  "  Big  river  come  that 
way — plenty  of  Indians  there,  and  raise  much  corn*'  Thus  it 
would  seem  that  the  meadows  and  flats  of  the  Winooski  River 
were  as  well  known  among  the  natives  for  corn-raising  capaci 
ties  as  they  have  since  been  among  the  succeeding  race  of  white 
men. 

Here,  then,  we  may  all  be  daily  treading  on  the  long  buried 
generations  of  the  Red  Men.  For  here,  doubtless,  passed,  one 
after  another,  for  unknown  ages,  their  successive  generations, 
with  no  chronicler  to  note  their  comings  and  goings.  Here  they 
planted  their  corn,  hunted,  lighted  their  council  lodges,  planned 
their  tribal  wars,  wooed,  wed,  and  wasted  away  in  age  and  death, 
as  much  unheeded  and  unknown  bj  the  civilized  world  as  the 
successive  growths  of  the  dark  and  gloomy  forests  they  inhab 
ited.  Yes,  here, 

"  Their  wigwams  stood  on  every  plain, 

Through  every  wood  they  sought  their  game, 
And  up  the  mountain  climb'd  ; 
For  free  they  roam'd,  and  made  their  home, 
Where'er  their  will  iriclin'd. 

But,  ah,  the  land  the  Indian  lov'd. 
Where  they  invok'd  the  lied  Man's  God, 
Hath  many  a  time-worn  mound, 
AVhere  lie  entombed  their  mouldering  bones. 
O'ergrown  with  moss  and  trees  around. 

For,  one  by  one,  a  mournful  band. 
They  all  have  sought  their  Spirit  Land, 
Whence  none  shall  e'er  return. 
Full  well  they  strove,  till,  spark  by  spark, 
Their  camp-fires  seased  to  burn." 


20  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

CHAPTER  II. 

PROPRIETARY    HISTORY    OF    THE    TOWNSHIP. 

SOMETHING  like  one  hundred  and  sixty  townships  of  Vermont 
had  been  granted  by  Governor  Wentwqrth,  of  New  Hampshire, 
previous  to  the  oiganization  of  its  civil  government,  in  March, 
1778.  The  State  Legislature  then  took  the  power  of  making 
these  grants  into  their  own  hands,  and,  both  for  the  encouraging 
of  settlement,  and  the  swelling  of  the  much  needed  State  reve 
nues  by  assessments  of  several  hundred  pounds  for  each  grant 
made,  except  those  for  public  services,  rapidly  continued  its  ex 
ercise  until  the  whole  State  was  granted.  The  process  of  pro 
curing  and  making  these  grants  seems  to  have  been  a  simple  and 
speedy  one.  A  company  of  resident  and  non-resident  men,  of 
some  means,  got  up  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  for  the  grant  of 
a  township  in  a  given  locality  ;  the  Legislature  thereupon  ap 
pointed  a  standing  committee  to  act  on  such  petition  ;  when,  if 
the  committee  reported  favorably,  as  was  generally  the  case,  a 
simple  resolve  was  passed  making  the  grant  in  question,  and  the 
Governor,  if  the  required  fees  were  paid,  issued  the  charter  ac 
cordingly. 

In  pursuance  of  these  forms,  Timothy  Bigelow  and  fifty -nine 
others,  including  Colonel  Jacob  Davis  and  his  two  minor  sons, 
Jacob  and  Thomas,  presented  to  the  Legislature,  at  the  October 
session,  1780,  their  petition  for  the  grant  of  a  tract  of  unappro 
priated  land,  in  the  locality  therein  specified,  under  the  name  of 
Montpelier  ;  when,  the  usual  committee  having  been  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  the  following  action,  as  appears  by  the  House 
Journal  of  that  session,  was  taken  in  the  premises  :— 

"  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  21st  of  October,  1780. 

u  The  committee  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  mi- 
granted  lands  in  this  State,  and  the  several  Pitches  on  file  in  the 
Secretary's  office,  <fcc.,  brought  in  the  following  report,  viz  : 

t;  k  That,  in  our  opinion,  the  following  tract  of  land,  viz :  lying- 
east  of  and  adjoining  Middlesex,  on  Onion  river,  and  partly  north 
of  Berlin,  containing  23040  acres,  be  granted  by  Assembly  to 
Col.  Timothy  Bigelow  and  Company,  by  the  name  of  MONTPELIER. 

'  PAUL  'SPOONER,  Chairman/ 

"  The  foregoing  report  was  read  and  accepted,  and 

u  Resolved,  That  there  be,  and  hereby  is  granted  unto  Col. 
Timothy  Bigelow  and  company,  being  sixty  in  number,  a  town- 


HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER.  21 

ship  of  land,  by  the  name  of  MONTPELIER,  situate  and  lying  in 
this  State,  bounded  as  follows,  viz  :  lying  east  of  and  adjoining 
Middlesex,  on  Onion  river,  and  partly  north  of  Berlin,  containing 
2:5040  acres  :  And  the  Governor  and  Council  are  hereby  request 
ed  to  issue  a  Grant  or  Charter  of  incorporation  of  said  township 
of  Montpelier,  under  such  restrictions,  reservations,  and  for  such 
considerations,  as  they  shall  judge  best  for  the  benefit  of  the 
State." 

ki  SATURDAY,  IN  COUNCJL,  21st  of  October,  1780. 
uThe  Governor  and  Council,  to  whom  was  referred  the  stating 
the  fees  for  the  grant  of  land  made  this  day,  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State,  having  had  the  same  under  consideration, 
have  stated  the  fees  aforesaid  at  four  hundred  and  eighty  pounds 
for  said  land,  being  one  township  by  the  name  of  MONTPELIER,  iii 
hard  money,  or  an  equivalent  in  Continental  Currency ;  to  be 
paid  by  Col.  Timothy  Bigelow  or  his  attorney,  on  the  execution 
of  the  Charter  of  Incorporation,  on  or  before  the  20th  of  Janu- 
arv  next. 

'•Attest,  JOSEPH  FAY,  Secretary. 

"  £480." 

For  some  reason  unknown,  though  probably  because  the  required 
fees  were  not  paid  in,  the  charter  above  authorized  was  not  is 
sued  till  the  succeeding  August ;  when  the  following  one  was 
issued  : 

^ CHARTER   OF   MONTPELIER." 

"  The  Governor,  Council  and  General  Assembly 
t%  [L.  s.]  "    of  the  Freemen  of  the  Stale  of  Vermont,  to  all  />eo- 
i>le  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,     GREETING  : 
"  KNOW   YE,  that  whereas  Timothy  Bigelow  and  his  associ 
ates,  our  worthy  friends,  have,  by  petition,  requested  a  grant  of 
unappropriated  lands  within  this  State,  in  order  for  settling  a 
new  Plantation,  to  be  erected  into  a  Township — 

"  We  have  therefore  thought  fit,  for  the  due  encouragement  of 
their  laudable  designs  and  for  other  valuable  considerations  us 
hereunto  moving,  and  do,  by  these  Presents,  and  in  the  name, 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  Freemen  of  the  State,  give  and  grant 
the  Tract(pf  land  hereafter  described  and  bounded,  unto  him, 
the  said  Timothy  Bigelow  and  the  several  persons  hereafter 
nained,  his  associates,  in  equal  shares,  viz: — Bethuel  Washburn, 
John  Washburn,  Elijah  Rood,  Thomas  Chittenden,  George  Foot, 
Elisha  Smith,  Jedediah  Strong,  James  Prescott,  Jacob  Brown, 
Gideon  Ormsbee,  James  Mead,  John  W.  Dana,  Timothy  Brown- 
son,  Gideon  Horton,  Matthew  Lyon,  Samuel  Horsford,  Ithamer 


22  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

Horsford,  William  Smith,  Jacob  Spear,  Jonas  Galusha,  Mary  Galu 
sha,  Noah  Smith,  Moses  Robinson,  Moses  Robinson  Jr,  John  Fas- 
set  Jr,  Jonas  Fay,  Abiathar  Waldo,Thomas  Tolman, Timothy  Stan 
ley,  Joseph  Dagget,  Ira  Allen,  Lyman  Hitchcock,  James  Gamble, 
Alanson  Douglas,  Adam  Martin,  the  heirs  of  Isaac  Nash,  Jona 
than  Brace,  Howel  Woodbridge,  James  Brace,  Henry  Walbridge, 
Jr.,  Joseph  Fay,  William  Goodrich,  Sybil  Goodrich,  Thomas 
Matterson,  Amos  Waters,  David  Galusha,  Jacob  Davis,  Ephraim 
Starkweather,  Shubael  Peck,  Jacob  Davis,  Jr.,  Thomas  Davis, 
John  Ramsdell,  Issachar  Reed,  Isaac  G.  Lansingh,  Ebenezer  Da 
vis,  Levi  Davis,  Asa  Davis,  Ebenezer  Stone,  and  Samuel  Allen, — 

"  Which,  together  with  the  five  following  Rights,  reserved  to 
the  several  public  uses  in  manner  following,  viz  :— 

[  Read  the  Charter  of  Ripton,  in  which  are  the  same  words 
with  this,  for  disposing  of  the  five  Public  Rights.] 

"  Which  Tract  of  land,  hereby  given  and  granted,  as  afore 
said,  is  bounded  and  described  as  follows,  viz : 

"  Beginning  at 

and  the  same  be,  and  hereby  is  incorporated  into  a  Township  by 
the  name  of  MONTPELIER,  and  the  inhabitants  that  do,  or  shall 
hereafter,  inhabit  said  Township,  are  declared  to  be  enfranchised 
and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  that  the  inhab 
itants  of  other  towns  in  this  State  do,  and  ought,  by  the  laws 
and  Constitution  thereof,  to  exercise  and  enjoy, — 

"  To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  granted  premises,  as  above 
expressed,  with  all  the  privileges  and  appurtenances  thereto  be 
longing,  unto  them  and  their  respective  heirs  and  assigns  forever, 
upon  the  following  conditions  and  reservations,  viz  : 

"  That  each  proprietor  in  the  Township  of  Montpelier  afore 
said,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  shall  plant  or  cultivate  five  acres  of 
land,  and  build  an  house  at  least  eighteen  feet  square  on  the 
floor,  or  have  one  family  settled  on  each  respective  Right,  within 
the  term  of  three  years  next  after  the  circumstances  of  the  war 
will  admit  of  a  settlement  with  safety,  on  penalty  of  the  forfeit 
ure  of  each  respective  Right,  or  share  of  land,  in  said  Town 
ship,  not  so  improved  or  settled ;  and  the  same  to  revert  to  the 
Freemen  of  this  State,  to  be  by  their  Representatives  regranted 
to  such  persons  as  shall  appear  to  settle  and  cultivate  the  same. 

"  That  all  Pine  Timber  suitable  for  a  Navy  be  reserved  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  the  Freemen  of  this  State. 

c'  In  testimony  whereof  we  have  caused  the  seal  of  this  State 
to  be  affixed,  in  Council,  this  14th  day  of  August,  A.  D.,  1781, 
and  in  the  5ih  year  of  our  Independence. 

"  THOMAS  CHITTENDEN. 

u  By  His  Excellency's  command, 

"  THOMAS  TOLMAN,  D.  Sec'v.'' 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  23 

Under  this  imperfect  Charter,  without  any  definite  bounda 
ries,  and  with  exacting  and  absurd  conditions  imposed,  was 
Montpelier  settled  and  organized.  It  had  been  hard  enough  for 
the  settlers  to  have  forfeited  their  Rights  because  they  had  not, 
in  just  so  many  years,  cleared  just  so  many  acres,  and  built  log 
houses  just  so  large  ;  but  to  forfeit  them  because  they  cut  the 
needed  pine  trees,  that  might  be  suitable  for  a  Navy,  when  they 
\vere  forty  miles  from  any  navigable  waters,  was  the  height  of 
absurdity.  The  clause  reserving  all  pine  timber  suitable  for  a 
Navy  seems  to  have  been  introduced  by  the  Royal  Governor  of 
New  Hampshire  in  all  his  grants  of  Vermont  lands  ;  and  the 
Legislature  of  our  State,  on  assuming  the  power,  seem,  strangely 
enough,  to  have  kept  along  the  form,  at  least,  in  the  charters 
they  caused  to  be  issued,  till  about  1783,  when  it  appears  to  have 
been  suddenly  dropped. 

Under  other  circumstances,  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive 
how  a  township  could  be  correctly  and  safely  surveyed,  allotted 
and  deeded,  without  legally  defined  boundaries.  But  in  the 
present  instance,  the  difficulties  were  mainly  obviated  by  the 
known  boundaries  of  several  of  the  surrounding  towns,  which 
had  been  previously  chartered.  By  these  guides,  the  township 
was  doubtless  very  correctly  surveyed  and  divided.  And  so  far 
as  regarded  forfeitures,  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  subject, 
and  as  little  apprehension  of  incurring  them  entertained,  prob 
ably,  by  the  proprietors  and  settlers  ;  for  many  were  the  Rights 
on  which  the  specified  improvements  were  not  made  within  the 
time  prescribed.  And  a  general  onslaught  on  all  the  pine  tim 
ber  was  among  the  first  movements  of  the  resident  proprietors. 
The  uncertainties  and  dangers  involved  in  the  defects  and  condi 
tions  of  the  first  charter  at  length,  however,  began  to  be  realized 
by  the  interested ;  and  they  therefore  applied  to  the  Legislature 
for  a  new  charter ;  when  that  body,  at  the  heel  of  an  adjourned 
session,  held  at  Windsor,  January,  1804,  passed  a  special  act  for 
the  purpose ;  and,  under  the  prompt  action  of  Secretary  David 
Wing,  Jr.,  in  whose  beautiful  chirography  the  document  appears, 
within  five  days  from  the  passage  of  the  act,  was  duly  issued  a 
new  charter  of  the  township,  which,  for  the  sake  of  having  both 
charters  in  connection,  we  here  insert. 

"THE  CHARTER  OF  MONTPELIER/' 

"  The  Governor  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  to  all 
"  [L.  s.]  "    People  to  whom  these  Presents  shall  come, 

"  GREETING  : 

u  WHEREAS,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  at  their 
adjourned  session,  holden  at  Windsor,  on  the  first  day  of  Febru- 


24  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIEIl. 

ary  A.  D.  1804,  was  pleased  to  pass  an  act  entitled  i  an  act 
authorizing  the  Governor  of  this  State  to  issue  a  new  charter  of 
Montpelier,'— 

"  Now  therefore  Know  Ye,  that  I,  Isaac  Tichewr,  Governor 
within  and  over  said  State,  and  in  the  name,  and  by  the  author 
ity  of  the  same,  and  in  pursuance  of,  and  by  virtue  of  the  act 
aforesaid,  Do,  by  these  presents,  give  and  grant  the  tract  of  land 
hereafter  described  and  bounded,  unto  Timothy  Bigelow,  and  to 
the  several  persons  hereafter  named,  his  associates,  in  equal 
shares,  viz : 

Ebenezer  Waters,  Ebenezer  Upham,  Elisha  Wales,  Elisba 
Smith  Wales,  Joel  Frizzle,  Bcthuel  Washburn,  John  Washburn, 
Elijah  Rood,  Thomas  Chittenden,  George  Foot,  Elisha  Smith, 
Jedediah  Strong,  James  Prescott,  Jacob  Brown,  Gideon  Orms- 
bee,  James  Mead,  John  W.  Dana,  Timothy  Brownson,  Gideon 
Horton,  Matthew  Lyon,  Samuel  Horsford,  Ithamer  Horsford, 
William  Smith,  Jacob  Spear,  Jonas  Galusha,  Mary  Galusha, 
Noah  Smith,  Moses  Robinson,  Moses  Robinson,  Jun.,  John  Fas- 
sett,  Jim.,  Jonas  Fay,  Abiathar  Waldo,  Thomas  Tolman,  Timo 
thy  Stanley,  Joseph  Dagget,  Ira  Allen,  Lyman  Hitchcock,  James 
Gamble,  Alanson  Douglass,  Adam  Martin,  the  heirs  of  Isaac 
Nash,  Jonathan  Brace,  Howell  Woodbridge,  James  Brace,  Henry 
Walbridge,  Jun.,  Joseph  Fay,  William  Goodrich,  Sybil  Good 
rich,  Thomas  Matterson,  Amos  Waters,  David  Galusha,  Jacob 
Davis,  Ephraim  Starkweather,  Shubael  Peck,  Jacob  Davis,  Jun., 
Thomas  Davis,  John  Ramsdell,  Issacher  Reed,  Isaac  G.  Lansingh, 
Ebenezer  Davis,  Asa  Davis,  Levi  Davis,  Ebenezer  Stone,  and 
Samuel  Allen, — 

i;  Which,  together  with  the  five  following  Rights,  reserved  to 
the  several  public  uses,  in  manner  following,  include  the  whole 
of  said  tract  or  township,  to  wit :  One  Right  for  the  use  of  a 
Seminary  or  College,  one  Right  for  the  use  of  County  Grammar 
Schools  in  said  State,  lands  to  the  amount  of  one  Right  to  be 
and  remain  for  the  settlement  of  a  Minister  or  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel  in  said  Township  forever,  lands  to  the  amount  of  one 
Right  for  the  support  of  the  social  worship  of  God  in  said  Town 
ship,  and  lands  to  ttte  amount  of  one  Right  for  the  support  of  an 
English  School  or  Schools  in  said  Township, — which  said  two 
Rights  for  the  use  of  a  Seminary  or  College,  and  for  the  use  of 
County  Grammar  Schools,  as  aforesaid,  and  the  Improvements, 
Rents,  Interests  and  Profits  arising  therefrom,  shall  be  under  the 
control,  order,  direction  and  disposal  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  said  State  forever. 

"  And  the  proprietors  of  said  Township  are  hereby  authorized 
and  empowered  to  locate  said  two  Rights  justly  and  equitably,  or 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELTER.  25 

quantity  for  quantity,  in  such  parts  of  said  Township  as  they,  or 
their  committee,  shall  judge  will  least  incommode  the  general 
settlement  of  said  Tract  or  Township. 

u  And  the  said  proprietors  are  further  empowered  to  locate 
the  lands  aforesaid,  amounting  to  three  Rights,  assigned  for  the 
settlement  of  a  Minister  or  Ministers,  for  their  support,  and  for 
the  use  and  support  of  English  Schools,  in  such,  and  in  so  many 
places,  as  they,  or  their  committee,  shall  judge  will  best  accom 
modate  the  inhabitants  of  said  Township  when  the  same  shall  be 
fully  settled  and  improved,  laying  the  same  equitably,  or  quantity 
for  quantity, — which  said  lands,  amounting  to  the  three  Rights 
last  mentioned,  when  located  as  aforesaid,  shall,  together  with 
the  Improvements,  Rights,  Rents,  Profits,  Dues  and  Interests, 
remain  inalienably  appropriated  to  the  uses  and  purposes  for 
which  they  are  respectively  assigned,  and  be  under  the  charge, 
direction  and  disposal  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  Township  for 
ever. 

u  Which  tract  of  land,  hereby  given  and  granted  as  aforesaid, 
is  bounded  and  described  as  follows,  to  wit : 

"  Beginning  at  a  Basswood  Tree  on  the  North  Bank  of  Onion 
River  marked  MIDDLESEX  CORNER,  JULY  13,  1785  ;  thence  North 
36°  East,  six  miles  to  a  Beech  Tree  marked  MONTPELIEB  COR 
NER,  JUNE  14,  178B;  thence  South  54°  East,  six  miles  and  an 
half,  to  a  Maple  Straddle  marked  MONTPELIER  CORNER,  JUNE  17, 
1786  ;  thench  South  36°  West,  five  miles  and  five  chains,  to  a 
Basswood  Tree  in  Barre  North  line,  marked  JUNE  19,  1786  ; 
thence  North  67°  West,  one  mile  and  sixty-seven  chains,  to 
Onion  River ;  thence  down  said  river  as  it  tends  to  the  first  bound. 

"  And  that  the  same  be,  and  hereby  is  incorporated  into  a 
TOWNSHIP  by  the  name  of  MONTPELTER. 

"  And  the  inhabitants  that  do,  or  shall  hereafter,  inhabit  said 
Township,  are  declared  to  be  enfranchised,  and  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  ond  immunities  that  the  inhabitants  of  other  towns 
within  this  State  do,  and  ought,  by  the  laws  and  Constitution 
thereof,  to  exercise  and  enjoy. 

"  To  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD  the  said  granted  premises,  as  above 
expressed,  with  all  the  privileges  and  appurtenances  thereunto  be 
longing,  unto  them  and  their  respective  heirs  and  assigns  forever. 

"  In  testimony  whereof  1  have  caused  these  letters  to  be  made 
patent,  and  the  seal  of  your  State  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  at  Windsor,  this  6/A  d.ty  of  February* 
A.  D.  1804,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
twenty-eighth.  ISAAC  TICHBNOIl. 

"  By  His  Excellency's  command, 

"  DAVID  WING,  JR.,  Secretary  of  State." 

4 


26  HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER. 

The  first  thing  noticeable,  on  comparing  this  Charter  with  the 
old  one,  is. that  it  fully  supplies  the  omitted  boundaries  of  the 
town,  and  properly  embodies  the  provisions  for  the  Rights  set 
apart  for  public  uses,  which  were  before  supplied  by  reference  to 
the  Charter  of  another  town ;  and  the  second,  that  in  it  the  ob 
jectionable  conditions  and  forfeitures  of  the  old  one  arc  entirely 
discarded,  leaving  the  town  unencumbered  by  the  vexatious  lia 
bilities  thereby  to  be  incurred,  and  wholly  free  to  appropriate 
what  timber  they  chose,  and  clear  their  lands  and  build  their 
houses  as  they  saw  fit.  It  will  also  be  noticed  that  in  this  new 
Charter  five  new  names,  not  found  in  the  former  one,  viz  :— 
Ebenezer  Waters,  Ebenezer  Upham,  Elisha  Wales,  Elisha  Smith 
Wales,  and  Joel  Frizzle, — are  inserted  after  the  name  of  the  lead 
ing  proprietor,  Timothy  Bigelow.  But,  as  the  other  proprietors 
would  never  have  suffered  this  to  be  done  to  the  lessening  of 
their  own  shares  by  making  a  greater  divisor,  unless  the  men 
whose  names  were  thus  inserted  were  really  among  the  grantees, 
it  is  but  reasonable  to  attribute  the  omission  of  these  names,  in 
the  first  Charter,  to  the  mistake  of  Tolman,  the  Deputy  Secreta 
ry  of  State,  who  recorded  the  Charter,  the  original  of  which  is 
not  now  to  be  found.  This  view  of  the  subject,  indeed,  finds 
confirmation  in  the  fact  that  Tolman  was  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  township  in  question,  and  the  Clerk  of  the  proprietors' 
first  meeting,  and  in  the  book  of  their  records,  in  transcribing 
the  Charter,  inserted  all  the  omitted  names,  with  the  continued 
acquiescences  of  all  concerned.  Arid  yet  it  is  singular  that  a 
similar  mistake  should  have  been  made  in  the  count  of  the  peti 
tioners,  at  least  by  the  Legislature,  who  really  made  the  grant 
only  to  sixty  men,  while  sixty-five  subsequently  found  their  way 
into  the  Charter. 

It  was  about  three  years  after  the  proprietors  had  obtained 
their  Charter  before  they  appear  to  have  made  any  movement 
towards  surveying  their  township,  with  a  view  of  settlement.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  period,  however,  the  following  circular,  or 
warning,  was  issued  :— 

"  THE  WARNING  FOR  THE  FIRST  PROPRIETORS'  MEETING  OF  THE 
TOWNSHIP  OF  MONTPELIER. 

"  STATE  OF  VERMONT. 

"  WHEREAS  application  hath  been  made  to  me  by  more  than 
one-sixteenth  part  of  the  Proprietors  of  Montpelier,  in  this  State, 
to  warn  a  meeting  of  said  Proprietors  ; — these  are,  therefore,  to 
warn  the  Proprietors  of  said  Township  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
Eliakim  Stoddard,  Esq.,  Innholder,  in  Arlington,  on  Tuesday, 
the  17th  day  of  August  next,  at  9  of  the  clock,  in  the  forenoon, 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  27 

to  act  on  tho  following  articles,  to  wit : — 1.  To  choose  a  Mod 
erator — 2.  A  Proprietors'  Clerk — 3.  A  Treasurer — 4.  To  see 
what  the  Proprietors  will  do  respecting  a  Division  of  said  Town 
ship,  and  to  transact  what  other  business  shall  be  thought  neces 
sary  when  met. 

"  (Signed)        ELIAKIM  STODDARD,  Just.  Peace, 

"  ARLINGTON,  June  llth,  1784." 

In  pursuance  of  this  warning,  the  Proprietors  held  their  first 
meeting,  organized,  and  transacted  the  following  business,  as  ap 
pears  by  their  Book  of  Records,  which,  being  prefaced  by  a 
certified  copy  of  their  Charter,  arid  the  above  copied  warning, 
were  then  commenced ;  which  are  still  preserved  in  the  Town 
Records  of  Montpelier,  and  from  which  we  copy  verbatim : 

"  ARLINGTON,  Tuesday,  August  17th,  1784. 

"  Agreeably  to  the  foregoing  warning,  the  Proprietors  met, 
and  the  meeting  was  opened  at  the  house  of  Eliakim  Stoddard, 
Esq.,  and  the  Proprietors  proceeded  to  the  business  of  the  meet 
ing,  agreeably  to  warning,  as  follows,  viz : — 

"1.      Voted,  Major  Gideon  Ormsby  Moderator  of  this  Meeting. 

"  2.  Voted,  That  Thomas  Tolrnan,  Esq.,  be,  and  is  hereby 
appointed  Clerk  of  this  Propriety. 

"  8.  Voted,  That  Jonas  Galusha,  Esq.,  be,  and  he  hereby  is 
chosen  and  appointed  Treasurer  of  this  Propriety. 

"  4.  Voted,  That  we  will  lay  out  a  First  Division  of  lands  in 
said  Township. 

"  5.  Voted,  That  150  acres  be  the  quantity  of  the  First  Di 
vision  in  said  Township,  to  be  laid  out  as  soon  as  circumstances 
will  admit. 

"  C>.  Voted,  That  we  will  appoint  a  committee  of  six,  four  of 
whom  shall  transact  the  business,  to  lay  out  said  Division. 

"  7.  Voted,  That  Thomas  Tolman,  Esq.,  Mr.  Samuel  Hors- 
ford,  Major  Gideon  Ormsby,  Jonas  Galusha,  Esq.,  Mr.  Joseph 
Dagget,  and  Lieut.  Samuel  Beach  be,  and  are  hereby  appointed 
our  said  committee.* 

"  8.      Voted,  That  this  meeting  stand  adjourned  to  the  first  Mon 
day  in  April  next,  which  will  be  in  the  year  1785,  then  to  meet  at 
the  house  of  Thomas  Tolnian,  Esq.,  in  this  town,  at  two  of  the  clock, 
in  the  afternoon ;  and  the  meeting  was  accordingly  adjourned. 
"  Attest,         THOMAS  TOLMAN,  Propr's  Clerk." 

*  Xote  by  the  Clerk  on  original  Records  : — 

"  This  committee  were  all' Proprietors  but  the  Surveyor,  Lt.  Samuel  Beach. 

;'  N.  13.  The  Proprietors,  present  at  this  meeting,  who  acted  for  themselves,  and 
others  by  power  of  Attorney,  were, 

"  His  Excellency,  Thomas  Chittenden,  Esq.,  Hon.  Timothy  Bownson,  Esq.,  Maj. 
Gideon  Ormsby,  Jonas  Galusha,  Esq.,  Thomas  Tolman,  Esq.,  Mr.  Joseph  Dagget,  and 
Mr.  John  Ilamsclell." 


28  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER. 

By  the  records,  it  next  appears  that  the  foregoing  "  Meeting," 
which  was  adjourned  to  theiirst  Monday  of  April,  1785,  "was," 
to  use  the  words  of  the  Clerk,  "  lost  by  not  attending  to  the  ad 
journment.''  Therefore,  on  application  of  the  required  number 
of  Proprietors,  a  new  warning  was  issued  for  a  meeting  at  the 
house  of  Eliakim  Stoddard,  in  Arlington,  on  the  second  Wed 
nesday  of  January,  1786,  to  organize  anew,  and  see  if  the  Pro 
prietors  would  lay  a  tax  to  defray  the  expenses  already  incurred, 
and  those  that  might  arise  from  laying  out  a  Division  of  said 
Township.  And,  accordingly,  the  Proprietors,  in  larger  num 
bers  than  at  the  first  meeting,  it  is  to  be  inferred,  convened  at 
the  time  and  place  speciiied  in  the  warning ;  when  the  following 
business  was  transacted,  which  we  again  copy  verbatim  from  the 
records  :— 

"  THE  SECOND  MEETING  OF  THE  PROPRIETORS  OF 
MONTPELIER. 

"  ARLINGTON,  Wednesday,  January  11,  1786. 

kt  Agreeably  to  the  foregoing  warning,  the  Proprietors  met, 
and  the  meeting  was  opened  at  the  house  of  Eliakim  Stoddard, 
Esq.,  and  proceeded  to  business  as  follows,  viz  :— 

"  1.  Voted,  That  Col.  Timothy  Brownson  be,  and  he  is  here 
by  chosen  Moderator  of  this  meeting. 

"2.     For  want  of  a  convenient  room  for  business, 

"  Voted,  That  this  meeting  stand  adjourned  fifteen  min 
utes,  to  meet,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  James 
Hawley,  in  this  town,  for  the  convenience  of  a  room. 

"  At  the  house  of  Mr.  James  Hawley,  agreeably  to  adjourn 
ment,  the  meeting  opened  again,  and  proceeded  to  business,  and 

"  1.  Voted,  To  ratify  the  vote  of  the  last  meeting  appointing 
Thomas  Tolman,  Esq.,  Clerk  of  this  Propriety. 

"2.  Voted,  To  ratify  the  vote  of  last  meeting  for  laying  a 
first  Division  in  said  Township  of  150  acres  to  each  Right,  with 
the  addition  of  five  acres  to  each  Lot  as  an  allowance  for  High 
ways.  And  that  said  Division  be  laid  out  in  good  form — the  lines 
of  said  Lots  to  be  parallel  with  the  Town  Lines  ;  turning  on 
Square  Angles ;  no  Lot  to  exceed  200  rods  in  length,  and  to  be 
all  in  one  body  ;  to  lie  as  near  the  centre  of  the  Town  as  may  be. 

"3.  Voted,  That  the  said  Division  be  surveyed,  and  a  com 
plete  Survey  Bill  thereof,  with  a  correct  plan  of  the  whole, 
according  to  act — the  Survey  Bill  specifying  the  Bounds  and 
Corners  of  each  Lot,  the  Lots  in  number  70,  including  5  Public 
Rights — be  made  out  and  returned  to  this  meeting,  to  be  held  by 
adjournment  in  this  town  on  the  2nd  Tuesday  in  January  next. 

wi  4.     Colonel  Jacob  Davis  made  the  following  proposition,  viz : 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  29 

that  he  will  complete  the  survey  of  the  First  Division  of  said 
Township,  agreeably  to  the  above  votes,  for  the  sum  of  One 
Pound  3s  102  per  Right,  counting  65  Rights  ;  Whereupon, 

"  Voted,  That  the  Proprietors  accept  of  the  proposal  of  the 
said  Davis,  and  shall  depend  upon  his  performing  the  service  ac 
cordingly. 

u  5.  Voted,  That  the  former  committee  for  laying  out  said 
Division  be  discharged,  and  that  the  following  persons  be,  and 
hereby  are  appointed  a  committee  to  lay  out  said  Division,  viz  : 
Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  Mr.  Ebenezer  Waters,  (or  in  case  of  his 
failure,  Mr.  Caleb  Ammadon,)  Mr.  Samuel  Horsford,  Col.  Sam 
uel  Robinson,  and  Capt.  Abiathar  Waldo. 

"  6.  Voted,  That  this  meeting  stand  adjourned  to  the  2nd 
Tuesday  in  January  next,  then  to  be  holden  at  the  house  of 
Thomas  Tolman,  Esq.,  in  this  town,  at  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 
"  Attest,  THO.  TOLMAN,  Propr's  Clerk." 

"  ARLINGTON,  January  9th,  1787,  (Tuesday.) 

"  The  meeting  opened  according  to  adjournment,  at  the  house 
of  Thomas  Tolman. 

"  1.  Voted,  That,  as  Colonel  Timothy  Brownson,  Moderator 
of  this  meeting,  is  absent,  Colonel  Jacob  Davis  be  Moderator  in 
his  absence. 

"2.  Voted,  That,  for  the  convenience  of  a  room  for  business, 
this  meeting  stand  adjourned  to  the  house  of  Capt.  Elisha  Wales, 
in  this  Town,  to  meet  at  one  of  the  clock,  this  afternoon. 

"  THO.  TOLMAN,  Propr's  Clerk. 

"  At  the  house  of  Capt.  Elisha  Wales,  the  meeting  opened  ac 
cording  to  adjournment. 

"The  Committee,  viz :  Jacob  Davis,  Abiathar  Waldo  and 
Samuel  Horsford,  were  sworn  before  His  Excellency  to  the  faith 
ful  discharge  of  their  trust.  Mr.  Nathan  Waldo,  Chairman,  was 
also  sworn. 

"  1.  Voted,  That  the  Proprietors  do  accept  of  the  Return, 
Plan  and  Survey  Bill  brought  in  by  our  Committee,  as  satisfac 
tory  and  agreeable  to  the  direction  of  this  Propriety,  in  their 
votes  of  January  last,  for  a  first  Division  in  said  Township. 

"2.  Voted,  That  the  Plan  of  the  1st  Division,  as  now  brought 
in  by  the  Committee,  be  entered  in  this  Book,  on  a  convenient 
Scale,  and  also  that  the  Survey  Bill  of  each  Lot  in  said  Division 
be  recorded." 

Here  follows  a  Plan  of  the  Division  ;  when  the  meeting  further 
u  3.      Voted,  That  we  will  proceed  to  make  a  Draft  of  said 
1st  Division,  which  being  attended  to  and  completed  as  the  law 
directs,  in  the  presence  of  the  meeting,  is  as  follows  : — 


30  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

Next  follows  the  Draft,  above  mentioned,  of  the  first  Division 
Lots,  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  each,  with  num 
bers  affixed  to  them  respectively,  and  the  names  of  the  proprie 
tors,  or  grantees  to  whom  they  were  assigned,  together  witli  the 
Survey  Bill  bounding  each  Right ;  when  it  was  still  further 

"4.  Voted,  That  the  following  accounts  against  this  Propri 
ety  be  allowed,  viz : 

"To  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  for  laying  out  said 

1st  Division,  X77  92 

"  To  Thomas  Tolman,  Clerk,  as  per  his 

acct.  on  file,  X  5  0  0 

"  To  the  Collector  of  this  Propriety,  for 
the  expense  of  the  first  advertize- 
ment  of  the  tax  to  be  levied,  £  0  150 


"£83     4  2 


.. 


5.  Voted,  That,  for  the  discharge  of  the  above  account,  a 
tax  be  laid  on  each  Right  (public  Rights  excepted)  of  One 
Pound  5s  8d,  and  that  the  same  be  immediately  collected,  paid 
into  the  Treasury,  and  paid  out  to  the  several  persons  as  the  law 
directs. 

"  6.  Voted,  That  the  vote  of  the  Proprietors  in  Aug.,  1784, 
appointing  Jonas  Galusha,  Esq.,  Treasurer  of  this  Propriety,  be 
and  it  is  hereby  ratified,  and  the  said  Treasurer  is  directed,  on 
receiving  the  above  tax  of  the  collector,  to  pay  out  the  above 
accounts  immediately,  on  the  receipt  of  the  several  persons  to 
whom  the  same  are  made  up. 

"  7.  Voted,  That  Mr.  Joseph  Dagget  be,  and  is  hereby  ap 
pointed  Collector  for  the  collecting  of  said  tax  ;  and  that  he  be 
directed  to  proceed  in  the  collection  of  the  same  according  to  law, 
so  as  to  hold  his  Vendue  for  the  sale  of  delinquent  Proprietors' 
lands,  if  any  there  should  be,  in  this  town,  on  the  2nd  Tuesday 
of  June  next,  and  that  he  thereupon  immediately  settle  in  full 
with  the  Treasurer. 

"  8.  WHEREAS,  Joel  Frizzel  has  become  an  actual  settler  in 
the  Township  of  Montpelier,  previous  to  a  first  Division  in  said 
Township,  and  represents  to  this  Meeting  that  he  made  his  Pitch 
by  virtue  of  owning  the  original  Right  of  James  Gamble  in  said 
Township,  and  requests  that  he  may  be  confirmed  in  his  Pitch,  in 
lieu  of  his  after  Drafts,  excepting  a  Pine  Pitch  ;  Whereupon, 

"  Voted,  That  the  following  Pitch  be,  and  hereby  is  granted 
and  confirmed  on  the  Right  of  James  Gamble,  in  said  Township — 
to  contain  one  hundred  acres,  and  three  acres  as  an  allowance 
for  Highways,  and  to  be  in  lieu  of  all  other  lands  and  after  Drafts 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  31 

on  said  Right,  excepting  the  first  Division  Lot,  and  a  Pine  Pitch, 
if  any  be  made  by  Draft  to  the  Proprietors  ;  and  also  that  said 
Right  be  subject  to  pay  an  equal  proportion  of  taxes  for  laying 
out  future  Divisions,  cutting  roads,  £c.,  viz  : — Beginning  at  the 
South  Westerly  corner  of  the  town,  being  the  South  Easterly 
corner  of  Middlesex,  on  Onion  River — thence  up  said  river  50 
rods  on  a  Right  line — then  extending  this  breadth  back  North 
Easterly  parallel  with  the  North  Westerly  line  of  the  Town,  so 
far  as  to  contain  the  said  quantity  of  103  acres. 

u  9.  Voted,  That  we  will  lay  out  a  second  Division  of  lands 
in  said  Township,  to  contain  120  acres,  and  an  allowance  of  four 
acres  to  each  Lot  for  High  Ways,  which  said  Division  shall  begin 
165  rods  from  the  North  Westerly  line  of  the  town  and  the 
South  Easterly  line  of  Middlesex  ;  to  extend  South  Easterly  and 
then  North  Easterly,  taking  in  all  the  now  vacant  lands  between 
the  river  Onion  arid  the  South  Easterly  line  of  the  Township,  and 
the  first  Division  of  lands  in  the  Township,  and,  if  the  same 
should  require,  to  extend  as  far  as  need  be,  North  Westerly  be 
tween  the  North  Easterly  line  of  the  Township  and  the  said  first 
Division — 

"  That  the  said  Division  contain  sixty-six  Lots,  (the  Rights  of 
James  Gamble,  Jacob  Davis,  Jacob  Davis,  Jan.,  and  Thomas 
Davis  excluded.) 

"10.  Voted,  That  Col.  Jacob  Davis  have  the  privilege  of 
pitching  (within  the  lands  above  described  for  a  second  Division 
previous  to  said  second  Division  being  laid  out)  the  quantity 
which  he  would  have  in  the  said  2nd  Division  on  the  Rights  of 
Jacob  Davis,  Jacob  Davis,  Jim.,  and  Thomas  Davis,  viz: — 
186  acres,  in  good  form,  and  not  more  than  double  the  length 
of  the  breadth,  where  ho  shall  judge  is  a  convenient  place  for 
building  a  Saw  Mill;  and  186  acres  more,  in  like  good  form, 
where  he  shall  judge  is  a  convenient  place  for  a  Grist  Mill, — 
which  lands  are  to  be  in  lieu  of  the  2nd  Division  .Lots  on  the 
Rights  of  the  said  Jacob  Davis,  Jacob  Davis,  Jun.,  and  Thomas 
Davis, — on  condition  that  he  build  a  good  Saw  Mill,  which  shall 
l)e  ready  to  do  business  within  the  term  of  two  years  ;  and  a 
good  Grist  Mill,  which  shall  be  ready  to  do  business  within  three 
years  from  this  time.  And,  on  failure  of  building  said  Mills,  as 
above  said,  then  said  pitches  to  revert  as  undivided  lands  to  the 
Propriety,  and  the  said  Davis  to  be  subject  to  receive  the  said 
quantity  of  land  of  said  pitches  in  other  undivided  lands  in  said 
Township,  as  the  Proprietors  may  hereafter  direct. 

"  11.  Voted,  That  a  Ihird  Division  of  lands  be  made  in  said 
Township,  which  shall  be  called  the  3d  or  Pine  Pitch  Division, 
and  shall  be  laid  in  the  following  manner,  viz : — The  parcel  of 


32  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

pine  land  in  the  South  Westerly  corner  of  the  Township,  lying 
between  the  Pitch  of  103  acres  voted  on  the  Right  of  James 
Gamble  in  consequence  of  the  settlement  made  thereon  by  Joel 
Frizzel,  and  the  beginning  of  the  2nd  Division,  shall  be  exam 
ined  and  a  Division  of  70  equal  Lots  laid  thereon,  as  large  as  the 
quantity  of  the  said  pine  timbered  lands  shall  be  found  to  ad 
mit  on  such  examination — the  lots  to  lie  in  square  form,  and 
to  be  as  nearly  equal  for  timber  as  may  be. 

"  12.  Voted,  That  the  2nd  and  3d  Divisions  be  laid  out  and 
surveyed  according  to  act,  and  correct  Plans  and  Survey  Bills 
thereof  be  made  out  and  returned  to  our  next  adjourned  meeting, 
to  be  holden  in  this  town,  on  the  2nd  Tuesday  of  June  next. 

"  13.  Voted,  That  the  proposal  of  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  viz  : 
that  he  will  perform  and  complete  the  Survey  of  said  2nd  and 
3d  Divisions,  and  make  regular  returns  thereof,  agreeable  to  the 
foregoing  votes,  for  the  sum  of  £180  per  Right,  (public 
Rights  excepted,)  be,  and  it  is  hereby  accepted  by  this  Meeting  ; 
and  we  depend  upon  his  performing  and  completing  the  said 
service  accordingly. 

"  14.  Voted,  That  the  following  persons  be,  and  are  hereby 
appointed  a  Committee  to  lay  out  said  2nd  and  3d  Divisions,  viz  : 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Waters,  Surveyor,  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  Mr.  Pearly 
Davis,  Mr.  Nathan  Waldo,  and  Mr.  Joel  Frizzel. 

"  15.  Voted,  That  the  Proprietors'  Meetings  of  the  Propriety 
be,  in  future,  warned  by  the  Proprietors'  Clerk,  upon  application 
of  one-sixteenth  part  of  the  Proprietors. 

"  16.  Voted,  That  the  adjournment  of  this  Meeting  be  noti 
fied  in  the  papers  by  the  Proprietors'  Clerk. 

"  17.  Voted,  That  this  Meeting  stand  adjourned  to  the  2nd 
Tuesday  of  June  next,  at  11  o'clock,  in  the  forenoon,  then  to 
meet  at  this  house,  (Capt.  Elisha  Wales's,  Arlington.)" 

"ARLINGTON,  June  llth,  1787. 

C1  Agreeably  to  an  adjournment  of  the  9th  of  January  last, 
the  Proprietors  of  Montpelier  met  at  this  place,  (at  the  house 
lately  occupied  by  Capt.  Elisha  Wales,  now  by  Lieut.  Abel 
Aylesworth,)  and  proceeded  to  business,  Col.  Timothy  Brownson 
in  the  chair. 

"  1.  Mr.  Ebenezer  Waters,  Surveyor,  and  Col.  Jacob  Davis, 
and  Nathan  Waldo,  Chairman,  were  sworn  before  the  Hon.  Timo 
thy  Brownson,  Esq.,  Assistant,  that  they  have  faithfully  dis 
charged  their  office  and  trust  as  a  Committee  in  laying  out  the 
2nd  and  3d  Divisions  in  the  Township  of  Montpelier. 

"  2.  Oar  said  Committee,  appointed  to  lay  out  the  2nd  and 
•3d  Divisions  in  said  Township,  brought  in  and  laid  before  the 


HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER.  38 

Meeting  their  Returns  and  Plans  of  said  2nd  and  3d  Divisions, 
and  the  same  being  examined, — 

"  Voted,  unanimously,  that  the  doings  of  our  said  Committee, 
in  laying  out  of  the  2nd  and  3d  Divisions  in  said  Township,  and 
their  Returns  and  Plans  thereof,  be  accepted. 

"3.  Voted,  That  this  meeting  will  immediately  proceed  to 
make  a  Draft  of  the  said  2nd  and  3d  Divisions,  and  that  Mr.  Eb- 
enezer  Waters  be  appointed  the  person  to  draw  the  Numbers,  and 
the  same  being  done  deliberately,  correctly,  and  in  Open  Meet 
ing,  the  Drafts  of  the  2nd  and  3d  Divisions  are  as  follows  : — 

Here  follow  the  names  of  the  Proprietors  and  the  numbers  of 
the  Lots  drawn  to  each  respectively,  together  with  the  Survey 
Bills  and  Plans  of  said  Divisions. 

The  next  day,  the  accounts  of  Jacob  Davis  for  laying  out  these 
two  Divisions  were  allowed,  and  payment  provided  for  by  a  pro 
portionate  tax  on  each  Right.  Jacob  Davis  and  Pearly  Davis 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  lay  out  and  make  all  the  neces 
sary  public  roads  in  said  Township,  at  the  expense  of  the 
grantees,  and  with  orders  to  make  their  returns  to  the  next  meet 
ing,  which  was  then  fixed  on.  by  adjournment  to  the  2nd  Tuesday 
of  the  next  January. 

A  public  vendue,  previously  appointed  and  notified,  to  sell  so 
much  of  the  Rights  of  Proprietors,  found  delinquent  in  paying 
their  proportion  of  the  sums  assessed  to  pay  expenses,  as  should 
meet  the  same,  was  holden  at  the  same  time  and  place,  and 
records  duly  made  of  the  sales,  and  conditions  of  redemption  es 
tablished. 

The  meeting,  pursuant  to  the  last  adjournment,  again  met  at 
Arlington  ;  when  Col.  Davis  requested,  and  was  allowed,  the 
further  time  till  next  June  to  complete  the  roads  in  the  Town 
ship,  which  he  and  Pearly  Davis  had  been  authorized  to  lay  out 
and  build  by  the  vote  of  the  previous  meeting.  And  the  assess 
ment  of  three  shillings  per  Right  was  voted  to  defray  the  expen 
ses  of  the  same  ;  when  the  meeting,  after  allowing  the  accounts 
of  its  officers,  further  adjourned  to  the  first  Wednesday  of  the 
next  June,  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Jonas  Galusha,  in  Shaftsbury. 

At  the  adjourned  meeting  at  Shaftsbury,  on  the  4th  of  June, 
little  appears  to  have  been  done  but  to  accept  the  report  of  Jacob 
Davis  and  Pearly  Davis,  the  committee  to  lay  out  and  build  the 
roads  in  said  Township,  allow  their  accounts,  and  make  an  addi 
tional  assessment  of  nineteen  shillings  per  Right,  to  defray  the 
expense  of  the  roads,  made  and  projected,  in  the  Township. 
And  when  this  was  done,  these  important  meetings,  which  had 
been  protracted  through  so  many  adjournments,  were  brought  to 
a  close. 

5 


34  HISTORY  OF   MONTPELIER. 

All  but  a  small  remnant  of  the  Township,  on  its  Western  and 
Northern  borders,  having  now  been  surveyed,  allotted,  and  the 
roads  built  or  authorized  to  be  built,  the  Proprietors  held  no 
other  meeting  for  over  four  years  ;  when  a  new  meeting,  on  the 
warning  of  David  Wing,  Jr,  .Justice  of  Peace,  was  duly  called  arid 
liolden  at  Montpelier,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1792. 

At  this  Meeting,  Mr.  Clark  Stevens,  of  Montpelier,  was  chosen 
Moderator, and  David  Wing,  Jr.,  Esq., of  Montpelier,  Proprietors' 
Clerk  ;  and  it  was 

"  Voted  to  make  Division  of  the  undivided  lands  in  said 
Town  ;  and  lay  out  the  whole  of  the  undivided  lands  in  said  Town 
ship  into  seventy  equal  parts  or  shares" 

And  it  was  also 

"  Voted,  That  a  Committee  of  One  be  chosen  to  make  sucli 
Division,  and  that  Col.  Jacob  Davis  be  that  Committee  ;  to  per 
form  the  service,  and  make  his  returns  at  the  next  adjourned 
Meeting,  to  be  liolden  at  the  house  of  said  Col.  Davis,  in  Mont 
pelier,  on  the  2nd  Tuesday  of  May,  1793." 

At  the  adjourned  meeting,  May  14,  1793,  Col.  Jacob  Davis 
made  due  returns,  as  directed,  of  his  doings,  consisting  of  a  com 
pleted  Plan  of  a  Fourth  Division  of  Montpelier,  which  was 
examined,  and  unanimously  accepted  ;  when,  a  vote  therefor  hav 
ing  been  obtained,  and  Rufus  Wakefield  appointed  to  draw  the 
numbers,  an  allotment  was  made  and  recorded,  consisting  of  sev 
enty  equal  parts  or  shares,  being  one  share  to  each  Proprietor's 
and  Public  Rights,  as  in  all  previous  allotments.  The  meeting 
then,  after  allowing  the  account  of  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  at  Xll  5  0 
for  laying  out  said  Division,  and  those  of  his  assistants  and  the 
officers  of  the  meeting,  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  house  of  David 
Wing,  Jr.,  Esq.,  in  Montpelier,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1795. 

At  the  adjourned  meeting  last  named  the  following  is  the  brief 
record  of  the  proceedings  : 

"  MONTPELIER,  May  14,  1795. 

"  Agreeably  to  the  adjournment  of  May  14th  last,  the  Pro 
prietors  of  Montpelier  met ;  and  there  appearing  no  business 
before  the  Meeting,  Voted,  that  this  meeting  be  dissolved  ;  and 
it  was  dissolved  accordingly. 

"Attest,     "  DAVID  WING,  JR.,  Pr.  Clerk." 

This  completes  the  Proprietary  history  of  Montpelier.  But 
as  the  Plans  of  the  surveys  and  several  Divisions  of  the  Town 
ship  have  not  been  here  given,  it  may  be  well,  perhaps,  to  state, 
for  the  information  of  the  general  reader,  how  these  Divisions 
were  relatively  located  in  the  town,  and  of  what  they  were  made 
to  consist. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  35 

The  First  Division,  consisting  of  seventy  lots,  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  acres  each,  commenced  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
rods  from  the  dividing  line  between  Montpelier  and  Middlesex, 
and  two  hundred  rods  from  Calais  line,  and  preserving  those  dis 
tances  from  Calais  and  Middlesex  lines,  so  laid  as  to  make  nearly 
a  square  body  of  land,  extending  about  three  miles  each  way, 
coming  within  about  one  mile  of  the  Winooski  River  at  Mont 
pelier  village,  and  embracing  all  the  central  parts  of  the  town. 

The  Second  Division  embraces  an  average  of  about  three 
tiers  of  lots  lying  along  the  Winooski,  below  and  above  the  vil 
lage,  up  to  where  the  river  becomes  wholly  within  the  town, 
above  the  Goodenow  Mills,  and  then  widening  into  four  tiers  of 
lots,  and  embracing  all  the  Eastern  parts  of  the  town,  between 
Plainfield  and  a  part  of  Marshfield,  and  the  First  Division. 

The  Fourth  Division,  about  one-third  the  size  of  the  First  and 
Second  Divisions,  lies  along  the  whole  border  of  Middlesex,  and 
so  far  along  that  of  Calais  as  the  First  Division  extended  East, 
and  embracing  a  tract  of  the  width  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
live  rods  along  the  Middlesex,  and  two  hundred  rods  along  the 
Calais  line,  being  the  border  tract,  for  some  now  unknown  reason 
omitted  in  laying  out  the  First  Division.  And  the  Third  Divis 
ion,  which  was  intended  for  a  Division  of  pine  lumber  rather 
than  lands,  embraced  but  seventeen  and  a  half  acres  of  land, 
and  lay  near  the  Winooski  river,  within  about  one  hundred  rods 
from  the  Middlesex  line,  and  on  the  high  swell  below  our  Ceme 
tery,  on  a  part  of  what  has  since  been  called  the  old  Walton 
Farm.  This  tract,  which  was  entirely  covered  with  valuable 
pine  trees,  was  divided  into  seventy  equal  parts,  making  one- 
quarter  of  an  acre  to  each  Proprietor  and  Public  Right,  the  Pro 
prietors  at  large  deeming  it,  as  it  would  appear,  much  too  valuable 
to  be  suffered  to  fall  to  the  share  of  any  one  of  them.  Simeon 
Dewey,  Esq.,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Berlin,  and  now  nearly 
ninety  years  old,  has  recently  informed  us  that  he  worked  in  Col. 
Davis'  Saw  Mill,  the  first  year  after  it  was  erected,  on  the  falls 
of  the  North  Branch,  within  Montpelier  village  ;  and  that  he 
sawed,  during  the  time,  the  greatest  part  of  the  pine  growing  on 
this  tract,  for  the  Colonel,  who  had  bought  in  most  of  the  shares ; 
and  Mr.  Dewey  assured  us  that  he  had  never  since  seen,  in  Ver 
mont,  New  Hampshire,  or  even  Maine,  a  more  splendid  lot  of 
pine  trees,  growing  on  so  small  an  area,  than  the  one  covering 
this  little  Third  Division  of  Montpelier.  And  yet,  curiously 
enough,  not  a  single  pine  tree  of  the  whole  collection  was  found 
which  was  deemed  suitable  to  be  used  for  a  Navy  ! 

Col.   Davis'  first  pitch  embraced  what  is  now  the  village  of 
Montpelier,  from  the  river  against  Colonel  Reed's  house,  near 


36  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

the  lower  end  of  the  village,  extended  up  the  river  to  the  Old 
Arch  Bridge,  and  back  from  the  river,  parallel  with  town  and 
lot  lines,  far  enough  to  embrace  the  Waterman  Falls  on  the 
Branch  and  contain  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  acres.  His 
second,  or  upper  pitch,  embraced  the  same  number  of  acres  with 
in  the  great  bend  of  the  river,  two  miles  above,  and  was  long 
known  as  the  Jacob  Davis,  Jr.,  Farm. 

In  the  great  controversy  between  New  York  and  New  Hamp 
shire,  for  the  jurisdiction  of  Yermont  and  right  to  grant  her 
lands  accordingly,  New  York  does  not  appear  to  have  very  per 
sistently  interfered,  as  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain,  for  the 
control  of  any  part  of  this  central  portion  of  the  State,  and  not 
at  all  for  that  of  such  townships  as  had  been  granted  by  the 
Governor  of  New  Hampshire,  such  as  Berlin,  Moretown,  Middle 
sex  and  Worcester,  granted  by  the  latter  in  1763.  But  when, 
in  1764-5,  New  York  laid  claim,  under  a  new  grant  of  Charles 
II.  to  the  Duke  of  York,  to  the  whole  territory  as  far  East  as 
Connecticut  River,  and  Governor  Wentworth  mostly  ceased  mak 
ing  grants  therein,  there  appeared  to  be  a  large  tract,  lying 
South-Easterly  of  the  towns  above  mentioned,  and  between  them 
and  the  first  two  tiers  of  towns  west  of  Connecticut  River,  re 
maining  ungranted  ;  and  it  does  appear  that  a  movement  was 
made  by  the  Governor  of  New  York  to  appropriate  this  section 
of  the  ungranted  wilderness.  There  has  been  preserved,  in  the 
Historical  Collections  of  the  Colonial  History  of  New  York,  an 
old  map  of  the  disputed  territory,  designating  with  the  letter  y 
the  townships  previously  granted  by  New  Hampshire,  and  mark 
ing  off  and  putting  names  of  new  townships  on  the  rest,  as  hav 
ing  been  recently  granted  by  New  York.  On  this  map  we  find 
marked  off  a  large  tract  westerly  of  Corinth,  which  is  designated 
with  the  name  of  Kingsboro,  (the  same,  doubtless,  afterward 
called  Kingsland,)  and  which  was  made  to  embrace  the  present 
town  of  Washington  as  its  central  point.  And  there  is  record 
evidence  to  show  that  this  township  was  taken  possession  of  by 
the  New  York  authorities  in  1770,  Judges  and  a  Sheriff  appoint 
ed  for  holding  courts,  consisting  of  John  Taplin  and  Samuel 
Sleeper,  Judges,  and  John  Taplin,  Jr.,  Sheriff,  (the  latter  be 
coming  afterwards  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Berlin,  and  its  first 
Justice  of  Peace)  ;  and  that,  in  the  winter  of  1781,  they  went 
through  the  woods  and  deep  snows  till  they  supposed  they  were 
"  at  Kingsland"  Centre,  when  they  opened  a  court  in  the  woods, 
and  adjourned  to  the  last  Tuesday  of  the  next  May  ;  and  at  that 
time  came  again,  drummed  up  a  case  of  bastarday,  disposed  of 
it,  and  never  met  there  again,  though  they  subsequently  did  so 
for  two  or  three  years  afterwards  at  Newbury,  to  act  for  the 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER.  37 

same  Kingslaiid,  and  built  a  log  jail  at  Washington,  still  designed 
for  the  seat  of  justice,  as  soon  as  it  could  be  settled. 

On  the  north-west  of  this  Kingsboro,  or  Kingsland,  there  ap 
pears,  on  the  old  map  before  mentioned,  another  and  smaller, 
oblong  tract,  lying  immediately  south  and  east  of  Middlesex  and 
Berlin,  marked  off  by  lines,  and  designated  by  the  name  of 
k'  Kilby."  And  this  last  named  tract,  called  Kilby,  must  have 
embraced  the  whole  of  Montpelier,  part  or  all  of  Barre,  and 
perhaps  Plainfield.  And  that  such  a  tract  hereabouts  was  grant 
ed  by  New  York,  and  that,  under  color  of  the  grant,  sundry 
New  Yorkers  made  an  attempt  to  survey  it,  with  the  view  of 
sales  and  settlement,  finds  confirmation  in  the  papers  left  by  Ira 
Allen,  the  noted  pioneer  surveyor  of  the  State,  and  the  indefati 
gable  foe  of  the  Yorkers  in  their  attempt  to  get  possession  of 
our  lands.  In  Ira  Allen's  Field  Book,  or  rather  Journal  of  his 
surveys  and  excursions  through  the  unsettled  parts  of  the  State, 
which  was  left  in  manuscript  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  the  present 
Hon.  Ira  Allen,  of  Irasburgh,  and  which  we  had  an  opportunity 
of  perusing  a  few  years  ago,  he  makes  the  entry,  under  date 
about  1772,  that  "  learning  that  the  Yorkers  were  running  lines 
on  the  upper  part  of  Onion  River,"  he  headed  a  party  to  go  in 
pursuit  of  them  ;  and,  passing  up  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
through  Moretown  and  Berlin,  (then  already  granted  and  known 
by  name,)  they  crossed  over  Stevens'  Branch ;  when,  after  hav 
ing  proceeded  up  the  river  four  or  five  miles,  to  an  extensive 
piece  of  meadow — the  one  next  east  of  Lightning  Ridge,  prob 
ably — they  came  to  the  camp  of  the  Yorkers,  who,  as  was  judged 
by  the  live  embers  of  their  fire,  had,  but  an  hour  or  two  before, 
lied,  never  more  to  make  their  appearance  in  this  section — they, 
as  he  thinks,  having  been  warned  by  a  hunter  whom  he  had  met 
on  the  way,  and  who  must  have  been  in  the  interest  of  the  in 
truders,  and  took  a  short  cut  to  their  camp,  to  apprise  them  of 
the  approach  of  the  dreaded  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

Thus,  it  would  appear  that  Montpelier  was  once  claimed  as  a 
New  York  grant,  and  that  but  for  the  spirit  and  resolution  of 
Ira  Allen,  backed  by  his  indomitable  brother,  Ethan,  it  would 
very  likely  have  been  settled  by  the  Yorkers,  instead  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  men  to  whom  it  was  subsequently  granted  and  sold. 


38  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    FIRST   SETTLEMENT    OF   THE    TOWN    AND    ATTENDING    INCIDENTS. 

Ox  the  3d  day  of  May,  1787,  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  late  from 
Charlton,  Worcester  County,  Mass.,  in  company  with  his  hired 
man,  and  his  cousin,  Pearly  Davis,  with  one  horse  among  them, 
and  each  loaded  down  with  as  much  as  he  could  well  carry,  with 
flour,  salt  pork,  beans,  .salt  and  a  few  other  common  condiments, 
tools,  cooking  utensils,  spare  clothing,  blankets,  and  a  set  of 
Surveyor's  instruments  belonging  to  Pearly  Davis,  the  afterwards 
noted  Surveyor  in  this  region,  all  started  from  Brookfield  in  this 
State,  to  which  the  Colonel  had  a  short  time  before  removed 
his  family,  for  their  prospective  home  in  Montpelier.  Their 
rough,  half-made  road,  which  was  the  iirst  one  cut  out  to  this  sec 
tion,  led  them  over  Williamstown  heights,  down  the  valley  after 
wards  occupied  by  the  Old  Paine  ..Turnpike,  to  the  flats  near 
where  now  stand  Sproat's  Mills  on  the  inlet  to  Berlin  Pond, 
then  along  the  slope  of  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  Pond 
and  down  the  central  ridge  in  Berlin  to  the  old  Tilley  Hubbard 
place,  next  south  of  the  Phelps  farm,  then  down  the  westerly  side 
of  what  is  called  Campbell's  hill,  over  the  Allen  farm,  and  then 
down  over  the  Martin  and  Shepard  farms,  onward  to  the  mouth 
of  Dog  River.  Here  they  waded  through  the  Winooski,  at  the 
rapids,  or  rather  shallows,  about  twenty  rods  above  the  mouth  of 
Dog  River,  and  proceeded  down  the  river  about  a  mile,  to  the 
residence  of  Seth  Putnam,  within  the  border  of  Middlesex — he,  a 
brother,  Thomas  Mead,  Jonah  Harrington  and  Lovel  Warren, 
having  effected  openings  in  the  forest,  built  their  log  houses,  and 
taken  up  their  abode  there  as  the  first  settlers  of  that  town. 
The  next  day,  Colonel  Davis  and  his  party  employed  themselves 
in  cutting  a  passable  bridle  way  up  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
from  Putnam's  opening  to  the  Hunter's  Camp,  situated  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Little  North  Branch,  forty  or  fifty  rods  above 
its  mouth,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Washington  County  Jail, 
in  the  village  of  Montpelier.  And  having  accomplished  that 
object,  and  brought  forward  their  luggage  during  the  day,  they 
took  up  their  temporary  abode  in  this  primitive  shanty,  which, 
having  evidently  been  constructed  with  considerable  labor  and 
care  by  previously  sojourning  trappers  and  hunters,  and  com 
posed  of  a  frame  work  of  strong  crotches  arid  poles,  well  roofed 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  39 

and  walled  on  three  sides  by  the  thick  bark  peeled  from  the  elms 
of  the  surrounding  meadows,  was  found  to  be  weather  proof,  and 
sufficiently  spacious  for  their  immediate  purposes. 

Thus  was  effected  the  first  permanent  settlement  of  Montpelier, 
on  the  4th  of  May,  1787,  about  four  years  after  the  virtual  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War,  about  nine  after  the  organization  of 
the  Civil  Government  of  Vermont,  and  about  four  before  her  ad 
mission  as  a  State  into  the  Union. 

It  appears,  it  is  true,  that,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  previous 
to  this  settlement  of  the  township  by  Colonel  Davis,  one  Joel 
Frizzle,  a  trapper  and  hunter,  who,  from  the  fact  that  he  had  got 
his  name  inserted  among  those  of  the  Proprietors  several  years 
before,  may  be  safely  supposed  to  have  been,  for  a  considerable 
period,  an  occasional  sojourner  in  his  calling  somewhere  in  this 
section  of  the  wilderness,  squatted  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  in 
the  south-west  corner  of  the  township,  on  what  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  Old  John  Walton  Farm.  Here  he  felled  the  trees 
on  the  space  of  an  acre  perhaps,  burned  it  over,  planted  corn 
among  the  charred  logs,  in  the  manner  of  the  natives,  erected  a 
small  log  hut,  and  removed  into  it  with  his  wife,  a  small,  red 
haired  French  woman,  whom  he  brought  from  Canada.  On  the 
strength  of  this  little  opening,  which  he  had  made  previous  to 
the  survey  for  the  First  Division,  in  the  summer  of  1786,  he  had 
prevailed  on  the  Proprietors  to  vote  him  the  right  of  making  a 
pitch,  including  his  opening,  fifty  rods  wide,  and  running  back 
from  the  river  along  the  Middlesex  line  far  enough  to  embrace 
one  hundred  acres,  with  the  extra  allowance  of  three  acres  for 
roads.  Here  he  was  found  by  Col.  Davis,  who  had  spent  a  good 
part  of  the  summer  previous  to  his  settlement  in  making  surveys 
for  the  First  Division  of  the  township,  as  authorized,  as  will  be 
recollected,  by  the  vote  of  the  Proprietors.  And  it  seems  prob 
able  that  the  Colonel  employed  Frizzle  as  an  axe-man  in  the 
surveys  -jf  that  summer,  since  we  find  his  name  added  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Proprietors,  as  a  sort  of  supernumerary  member 
of  the  committee  appointed  with  the  Colonel,  to  act  under  and 
with  him,  in  laying  out  the  Second  and  Third  Divisions  of  the 
town,  for  which  he  had  also  contracted.  This  is  about  the  last 
we  hear  of  Frizzle.  He  doubtless,  however,  acted  in  some  ca 
pacity  in  the  laying  out  of  the  Second  and  Third  Divisions  of  the 
town,  and  remained  on  his  place  perhaps  a  year  or  two  longer ; 
when,  having  squatted  and  obtained  his  pitch  only,  as  is  probable, 
for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  his  lands  to  better  advantage,  he 
sold  out,  left  this  part  of  the  country,  and  returned,  it  was  said, 
to  his  former  residence  in  Canada.  He  could  not  properly  be 
called  the  first  settler,  nor  properly,  indeed,  any  kind  of  settler, 


40  HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER. 

but  was  one  of  those  roving,  half  savage  men  who  are  ever  to  be 
found  near  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  who  yet  ever  flee  be 
fore  its  approach. 

As  soon  as  Colonel  Davis  had  established  himself  and  his  party 
at  the  camp,  it  was  his  first  care  and  business  to  make  prepara 
tions  for  erecting  a  large,  substantial  log  house.  Accordingly, 
with  his  accustomed  energy,  he  at  once  went  to  work  in  smooth 
ing  off  a  spot  for  the  contemplated  fabric,  adjoining  the  camp, 
cutting  and  drawing  in  the  trunks  of  the  nearest  suitable  trees, 
and  peeling  bark  for  the  roofing.  Then  followed  the  process  of 
rolling  up  and  fitting  the  logs,  raising  the  rafters,  ribbing  them 
with  poles,  and  putting  on  the  bark  covering.  And  so  rapidly 
was  all  this  performed  that,  within  eight  or  ten  days,  a  log  house, 
thirty-two  feet  long  and  sixteen  feet  wide,  stood  ready  for  sum 
mer  occupancy.  By  this  time  the  two  sons  of  Colonel  Davis, 
Jacob,  aged  nineteen,  and  Thomas,  aged  fifteen,  arrived  from 
Brookfield,  with  another  horse,  to  augment  the  laboring  force  of 
the  company  ;  when  they  all  commenced  an  onslaught  on  the  sur 
rounding  forest,  and  continued  their  labors  till  a  square  tract, 
extending  south  to  the  mouth  of  the  Branch,  and  down  the  pres 
ent  State  Street  to  the  site  of  the  Pavilion  Hotel,  was  prostrated 
and  drying  in  the  summer's  sun,  preparatory  to  the  next  step  in 
the  process  of  subduing  the  wilderness — that  of  burning  the  slash. 

Colonol  Davis,  having  thus  provided  a  house,  and  put  the  work 
of  clearing  up  his  land  in  good  progress,  left  it  to  be  continued 
by  his  hired  man  and  his  two  sons,  and  repaired  to  Arlington  to 
attend  a  Proprietors'  meeting,  which  had  been  adjourned  to  come 
together  again  at  that  place  on  the  llth  of  June,  1787  ;  while 
Pearly  Davis,  in  the  meantime,  proceeded  with  the  unfinished 
surveys  of  the  township,  and  located  himself  on  a  tract  of  about 
three  hundred  acres  of  land,  at  what  soon  became  known  as 
Montpelier  Centre,  where  he  permanently  settled,  and  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  just  named,  as  will  be  seen 
by  their  records,  copied  in  the  preceding  chapter,  Colonel  Davis, 
after  having  made  returns  of  his  surveys  and  plans  of  the  Second 
and  Third  Divisions  of  the  township,  and  had  his  accounts  al 
lowed,  was  appointed,  with  Pearly  Davis,  a  committee  to  lay  out 
and  construct  all  the  public  roads  of  the  town,  as  fast  as  needed 
by  settlers,  at  the  expense  of  the  grantees.  And  the  commence 
ment  of  this  heavy  and  long  to  be  protracted  job,  together  with 
prosecuting  the  work  of  clearing  the  extensive  meadow  on  which 
he  had  begun,  occupied  him  and  his  employees  for  the  remainder 
of  the  summer  and  fall  seasons  of  that  year.  Among  the  im 
provements  made  during  this  season,  was  the  making  of  a  com- 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  41 

paratively  good  road  from  the  bank  of  the  Branch,  near  the  new 
log  house,  down  round  the  foot  of  the  hills  to  the  lower  end  of 
the  meadow,  then  along  the  river  to  Middlesex  line,  and  also  the 
cutting  out  of  a  road  from  the  Tilley  Hubbard  place,  on  Berlin 
ridge,  at  the  point  where  the  road  diverged  westward  towards 
the  mouth  of  Dog  River,  directly  down  the  east  side  of  the  hill, 
to  the  Winooski  River,  by  the  Andrew  Cummings  farm,  in  the 
same  place  where  the  road  has  ever  since  been  maintained.  The 
object  of  making  this  road  being  to  save  the  unnecesary  distance 
occasioned  by  going  down  round  by  the  mouth  of  Dog  River  in 
journeys  from  the  Davis  opening  to  Brookfield,  it  was  brought 
down  the  Berlin  side  of  the  river  below  the  falls,  where  the 
Langdon  Mills  now  stand,  to  about  the  point  now  occupied  by 
the  Gas  Works,  where  the  river  could  generally  be  forded.  The 
river  here,  however,  was  considerably  deeper  than  at  the  old 
ford  near  the  mouth  of  Dog  River,  and  it  required  a  good  knowl 
edge,  in  the  traveller,  of  the  state  of  the  stream,  to  enable  him 
to  ride  a  horse  through  with  safety.  And  to  guard  against  the 
dangers  which  strangers,  or  the  unobservant,  might  incur  by  at 
tempting  to  ride  through  the  river  when  it  was  too  high  to  be 
safely  forded,  a  resort  was  had  to  one  of  those  simple  expedi 
ents  that  characterize  the  settlement  of  all  new  countries — a 
post,  or  large  stake,  was  driven  down  firmly  into  the  bottom  of 
the  river,  at  the  place  of  fording,  the  top  of  which  was  made  to 
come  just  to  the  surface  of  the  water  at  the  highest  stage  of  the 
swolen  stream  in  which  a  horse  could  pass  without  swimming, 
and  without,  consequently,  at  that  rapid  place,  being  swept  away 
by  the  current.  And  then  it  was  given  out,  and  soon  understood 
by  all,  that  so  long  as  they  could  see  the  top  of  the  stake  it 
would  do  to  attempt  to  cross,  but  that  if  the  top  of  the  stake 
could  not  be  seen  from  the  shore,  then  no  attempt  was  to  be 
made  at  fording.  Nearly  twenty  acres  of  forest  had  been  felled, 
burnt  over,  logged  off,  and  planted  by  hoes,  with  Indian  corn, 
a  fine  and,  near  the  streams  especially,  a  heavy  crop  of  which 
came  to  maturity  the  same  season.  And  all  this  had  been  ac 
complished  by  the  energetic  Colonel,  his  two  sons,  and  his  one 
steadily  employed  hired  man,  with  such  occasional  help  as  he 
could  obtain  from  transient  land  lookers  and  hunters.  In  the  la 
bors  of  the  forest,  indeed,  the  Colonel  was  himself  a  host ;  and 
he  was  known,  as  some  of  his  surviving  cotemporaries  have  told 
us,  to  have  felled,  with  his  own  hands,  trimmed  out  and  cut  into 
logging  lengths,  all  the  trees  on  an  acre  of  forest  of  average 
growth,  in  one  day,  and  to  have  accomplished  the  same  task  for 
many  days  in  succession. 

This  beautiful  meadow,  which  embraces,  in  its  whole  length 


42  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

and  breadth  between  the  Branch  and  its  lower  extremity  at  the 
old  Parson  Wright  house,  and  between  the  river  and  the  hills, 
nearly  fifty  acres,  was  found  covered  by  a  thrifty  growth  of  tall 
and  shapely  maple  trees,  constituting,  it  is  said,  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  pieces  of  forest  land  ever  beheld  in  this  or  any  other 
country.  And  its  fertility,  on  clearing  it  up,  was  found  equal  to 
its  beauty  as  a  forest  ground.  This  was  sufficiently  shown  by 
the  facts  that  Colonel  Davis  raised  on  this  meadow  ten  succes 
sive  crops  of  Indian  corn,  without  putting  on  a  shovelfull  of 
manure,  while  each  crop  yielded  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  bush 
els  to  the  acre.  Potatoes  were  raised  at  the  rate  of  four  hundred 
bushels  per  acre  ;  and  one  crop  of  wheat,  on  a  part  of  these  bot 
toms,  is  mentioned,  among  the  other  generally  abundant  ones, 
which  was  computed  to  have  yielded  the  extraordinary  amount 
of  eighty  bushels  per  acre,  and  all  of  the  most  superior  quality. 

The  manner  in  which  Colonel  Davis  and  his  party  lived  that 
summer,  though  not  quite  savage,  was  yet  certainly  rather  prim 
itive.  They  slept  under  blankets,  laid  on  beds  of  the  boughs  of 
the  hemlock  spread  on  the  ground  along  the  walls  of  their  yet 
unfioored  log  house.  At  first  they  had  no  fire-place  within  the 
house,  for,  no  ledges  or  loose  rock  then  being  visible  along-  the 
rock-woven  and  moss-covered  hills,  within  carrying  distance,  they 
knew  not  where  they  could  find  stone  to  build  one.  At  length, 
however,  as  one  of  them  happened  to  be  passing  up  one  of  the 
ravines  of  the  present  State  House  hill,  he  made  the  agreeable 
discovery  of  a  loose  ledge  of  slate-stone,  which  might  be  dug  out 
and  made  available  for  the  desired  object ;  and  ail  hands  turning 
out,  they  dug  out  and  drew  down  enough  stone  to  construct,  as 
they  then  soon  did,  the  lower  part  of  a  rude  chimney,  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  house,  with  two  fire  places  opening  on  oppo 
site  sides,  so  as  eventually  to  serve  for  each  of  the  two  large 
rooms  into  which  the  house  was  to  be  divided.  This  chimney 
Avas  carried  up  to  where  the  chamber  floor  was  to  be,  while  from 
the  top  of  the  funnel  thus  raised  the  smoke  was  left  to  find  its 
way  up  through  an  aperture  left  in  the  roofing  above.  Their 
cooking  utensils  consisted  of  one  iron  pot,  a  frying-pan  and 
bake-kettle,  in  which  they  boiled  their  vegetables,  stewed  or 
baked  their  beans,  boiled  or  fried  their  pork,  fish  and  wild  meats, 
and  baked  johnny-cakes  and  some  of  their  bread.  Most  of  the 
latter  article,  however,  as  they  had  no  oven,  they  procured  to  be 
baked  by  Mrs.  Seth  Putnam,  they  carrying  down  the  flour  to  her 
and  bringing  back  the  bread. 

All  these  cool,  pure,  mountain  streams  were  then  found  swarm 
ing  with  trout,  in  their  highest  condition  of  flavor  and  richness 
as  an  esculent.  And  the  forest  was  richly  stocked,  in  every  di- 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  43 

rection,  with  moose,  deer,  bear,  and  all  other  wild  quadrupeds 
common  to  our  northern  latitudes.  Jacob  Davis,  the  elder  of 
the  two  sons  of  Colonel  Davis,  whom  we  have  mentioned  as  soon 
following1  their  father  to  his  new  encampment,  informed  us,  dur 
ing  his  life  time,  that  the  next  morning  after  he  and  his  brother 
arrived  at  the  camp,  he  took  a  fish-line  and  hook  he  had  brought 
with  him,  some  raw  pork  for  bait,  with  a  half-bushel  basket  to 
hold  the  fish,  and  went  down  to  the  nearest  bank  of  the  Branch, 
a  few  rods  distant,  when,  he  cut  a  pole,  tied  on  his  line,  baited, 
and  threw  in  towards  the  middle  of  the  stream  to  await  the  re 
sult.  The  instant  the  bait  struck  the  water,  he  said,  the  trout, 
in  astonishing  numbers,  darted  forward  from  every  direction,  and 
like  a  Hock  of  hungry  chickens,  commenced  a  keen  tussle  for  the 
unwonted  prize  thus  suddenly  dropped  among  them.  He  then 
had  no  lack  of  business  for  the  next  half  hour,  at  the  expiration 
of  which,  though  he  had  thrown  back  into  the  water  all  the  little 
ones  as  fast  as  he  hooked  them  against  his  will,  he  yet  had  filled 
his  basket  with  trout  of  the  weight  of  a  half  pound  and  upwards 
to  two  pounds,  when  he  returned  to  camp  to  cook  and  enjoy,  with 
his  company,  the  luscious  breakfast  he  had  so  easily  supplied. 
Thomas  Davis,  the  younger  of  the  two  brothers,  who  still  sur 
vives  in  full  possession  of  his  faculties,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
nearly  90,  has,  also,  very  recently  told  us  that  many  a  morning, 
that  same  summer,  has  he  gone  down  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree  that 
they  had  fallen  into  the  stream,  near  their  house,  and  caught  a 
pailfull  of  line  trout  in  time  to  cook  them  for  breakfast.  "  1 
oiice,"  he  added,  ww  caught  a  cunning  old  stager  that,  even  in 
those  days,  was  considered  an  extra  large  one.  He  would  bite 
at  nothing,  till  tearing  from  my  waist  a  bit  of  my  red  flannel 
shirt,  1  put  it  on  to  my  hook,  threw  in,  and  the  next  moment  laid 
him  floundering  on  the  bank."  Subsequently  to  this,  trout 
weighing  four  and  five  pounds  were  frequently  caught  in  the  lar 
ger  streams  of  this  section  of  the  country. 

Bears  were  nearly  as  plenty  in  those  times  as  woodchucks  arc 
at  the  present  day,  and  quite  as  fearless,  too,  of  the  approach  of 
man.  As  Thomas  Davis,  who,  being  the  youngest,  was  made  the 
errand-boy  of  the  party,  was,  one  evening  just  at  dark,  during 
the  summer  of  which  wo  have  been  speaking,  returning  on  horse 
back  from  Putnam's,  with  the  usual  number  of  loaves  of  bread 
tiie  good  wife  had  baked  for  them,  he  encountered  one  of  these 
animals  on  the  road  near  the  place  now  occupied  by  William  S. 
Smith's  Butchery.  There  was  then  a  deep,  muddy  brook  which 
made  out  of  the  hills  and  crossed  the  road  at  that  place,  so  large 
that  they  had  been  compelled  to  build  a  pole  b ridge  over  it  b3- 
fore  they  could  get  along  with  a  horse.  As  young  Davis  came  up 


44  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

at  a  brisk  trot,  a  large  bear  rose  up,  and  throwing  itself  on  to 
his  haunches,  took  his  stand  upon  this  bridge,  as  if  to  dispute 
the  passage  of  the  horse,  when  the  lad,  having  little  time  and 
probably  quite  as  little  inclination  for  a  tilt  with  Bruin,  gave  his 
horse  the  lash,  dashed  over,  or  by  the  ugly  customer,  and  gal 
loped  home  to  supply  the  waiting  supper-table  with  bread,  and 
enliven  it,  doubtless,  with  a  recital  of  his  adventure  with  a  bear 
in  the  dark.  And  Mrs.  Marsh,  whose  husband,  the  late  William 
Marsh,  settled  on  their  farm,  a  mile  up  the  Branch,  in  a  few 
years  after  Col.  Davis  came,  has  told  us  that,  in  the  absence  of  the 
men  folks,  she  was  sometimes  compelled  to  sally  out,  with  club 
and  outcry,  to  prevent  the  bears  from  seizing  their  hogs  or  young 
cattle.  Moose  also  were  quite  plenty.  This  gigantic  animal  of 
the  deer  family  was  much  hunted  by  the  early  settlers,  for  its 
highly  relished  and  valuable  meat,  which  furnished  them  with  an 
excellent  substitute  for  beef.  Colonel  Davis  shot  one  in  a  place 
afterwards  known  as  Eames'  Beaver  Meadow,  about  two  miles 
northerly  of  Montpelier  Centre,  and,  with  the  help  of  his  sons, 
backed  it  home,  a  distance  of  nearly  five  miles,  all  the  way 
through  the  pathless  forest.  They  were  often  slain  in  all 
parts  of  this  and  neighboring  townships.  But  the  most  singular 
capture  of  this  animal,  mentioned  in  those  times,  was  that  of  the 
taking  of  a  large  one,  on  the  shore  of  Berlin  Pond,  by  Jacob 
Fowler,  who  settled  on  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  Martin  farm, 
on  Dog  River,  about  a  half  mile  from  its  mouth,  and  who  made 
hunting  his  main  business.  He  borrowed  a  large  bear  trap, 
weighing  thirty  pounds,  with  teeth  an  inch  long,  of  one  of  the 
Davis  boys,  and  having  set  it  in  a  path  where  the  moose  came 
down  to  the  pond  to  drink  or  crop  the  wild  grass,  and  chained 
it  securely  to  a  sapling,  went  there  the  next  day,  and  found  he 
had  caught  a  monster.  The  long,  murderous  teeth  of  the  trap 
had  clinched  by  each  other  right  through  the  fetlock  of  one  of 
the  animal's  feet,  and  held  him  so  fast  that  he  was  easily  knock 
ed  on  the  head  and  slain.  The  mode  of  preserving  the  meat  of 
the  moose,  when  slain  at  too  great  a  distance  from  home,  or  when 
the  snow  was  too  deep  for  transportation,  as  was  often  the  case, 
was  quite  unique  and  curious,  as  the  following  instance  will  ex 
emplify.  Daring  the  first  or  second  winter  the  Davis  family 
passed  here,  two  men,  coming  from  Waterbury  over  Worcester 
mountain,  when  the  snow  was  four  or  five  feet  deep,  struck  on  to 
a  yard  of  five  moose  that  were  so  completely  shut  in  by  the  im 
passable  crusted  snow  walls  that  the  whole  were  easily  slain. 
The  men  brought  down  to  the  Davis  family  as  much  as  they  could 
travel  with  on  their  snow  shoes,  and  told  the  boys  they  might 
have  the  rest  by  going  and  securing  it ;  whereupon  Thomas  Davis 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  45 

proceeded  to  the  spot  on  snow  shoes,  with  a  bag  of  salt  on  his 
back,  dug  out  a  deep  trough  from  a  hemlock  log,  salted  down 
the  moose,  securely  fitted  into  the  top  a  basswood  slab,  and  left 
it  till  the  spring  opened,  when  returning  with  a  horse  and  a  large 
pair  of  panniers,  he  found  his  moose  beef  all  safe,  and  transport 
ed  it  homeward  through  the  woods,  and  thus  furnished  the  family 
with  a  supply  of  good  corned  meat  for  most  of  the  summer  sea 
son. 

Deer  do  not  appear  to  have  been  very  numerous  in  this  section 
during  the  first  years  of  the  settlement,  nor  so  much  so  as  they 
\vere  afterwards.  This  seems  to  confirm  what  has  been  said  by 
old  hunters,  that  deer  are  rarely  found  in  any  considerable  num 
bers  in  any  locality  much  frequented  by  the  moose,  but  that  as 
the  latter  recede  before  the  approach  of  civilization,  the  former, 
for  a  time,  take  their  place. 

Of  the  strictly  ravenous  wild  animals,  wolves  were  the  most 
numerous,  and  the  most  destructive  to  the  cattle  and  sheep,  that 
for  years  could  be  only  safely  protected  from  their  ravages  by 
being  yarded,  at  night,  in  strong  and  very  high  log  enclosures  near 
the  house.  The  panther,  the  largest  and  most  dangerous,  but 
fortunately  the  least  numerous,  of  all  the  wild  cat  family,  were 
occasionally  encountered  here,  as  they  were  everywhere  else  by 
the  first  settlers  of  all  these  northern  latitudes.  And  when  one 
of  these  much  dreaded  animals  was  encountered  and  slain,  the 
adventure  always  formed  an  exciting  theme  for  fireside  recital. 

A  singular  story  of  an  adventure  with  a  panther,  within  the 
limits  of  this  very  village,  is  told  of  Jacob  Fowler,  which  must 
have  occurred  on  one  of  that  hunter's  excursions  to  this  part  of 
the  wilderness,  some  time  before  lie  came  here  for  permanent 
settlement.  Fowler,  as  he  used  to  relate  the  story,  was  one  day 
passing  along  up  the  banks  of  the  Little  North  Branch,  and 
when  he  had  arrived  at  a  point  near  the  upper  end  of  our  old 
grave  yard,  and  a  few  rods  below  a  small  sand  island  which  had 
been  thrown  up  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and  which  remained 
there  within  the  memory  of  many  of  our  oldest  inhabitants,  his 
attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by  the  noise  of  some  heavy  ani 
mal  rapidly  making  for  the  stream  a  short  distance  above  him. 
Quickly  concealing  himself  in  a  covert  near  the  edge  of  the  wa 
ter,  he  peered  out  up  stream,  and  beheld  an  old  bear  rush  furi 
ously  down  the  bank,  dash  through  the  water,  and  fall  to  digging, 
with  hot  haste,  a  hole  in  the  sand  on  the  island.  When  she  had 
excavated  a  hole  sufficiently  large  to  receive  her  body,  she  threw 
herself  on  her  back  within  it.  leaving  her  strong,  fending  paws 
stiffly  projecting  upward  above  the  surface.  Scarcely  had  this 
been  effected  before  a  large  panther,  following  hard  on  the  trail, 


46  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

appeared  on  the  bank,  bounded  through  the  stream,  and  leaping 
high,  came  down  on  the  face  and  paws  of  the  bear.  For  a  min 
ute  or  two  the  sand  flew  so  as  nearly  to  conceal  from  view  the 
terrific  struggle,  and  the  woods  rang  with  the  mingling  yells  and 
roars  of  the  combatants.  Shortly,  however,  the  exertions  of  the 
panther  relaxed,  and  then  he  soon  feebly  crawled  off  on  to  the 
sand,  completely  disembowelled,  when  the  hunter's  bullet  finished 
him  on  the  spot,  while  the  bear  jumped  up,  apparently  unharmed, 
and  quickly  made  off  into  the  forest. 

If  this  story  is  true,  and  it  appears  to  have  been  believed  to 
be  so  by  the  old  settlers  to  whom  it  was  imparted,  it  shows  a 
remarkable  instinct  for  self-preservation  in  the  bear  against  the 
attacks  of  its  formidable  natural  enemy.  For  a  while  after  hear 
ing  the  story  related  we  were  much  disposed  to  doubt  its  truth, 
but  subsequent  enquiries  of  old  woodsmen  and  hunters,  or  of 
those  who  have  often  listened  to  their  experiencies,  have  led  us 
to  conclude  that  the  incident  might  have  occurred  as  related. 
They  say  that  the  bear,  whenever  beset  by  the  panther,  always 
seeks  the  best  hollow  place  it  can  make  or  find,  in  the  permitted 
time  and  place,  and  throws  itself  on  its  back  to  receive  its  as 
sailant,  that  being  the  only  way  it  can  successfully  defend  itself 
in  the  encounter,  though  it  is  not  often  its  good  fortune  to  be 
able  to  reach  in  time  a  sand  bank,  out  of  which  to  make  so  good 
a  citadel  as  did  the  fortunate  bear  whose  feat  we  have  been 
describing. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    FIRST    SETTLEMENT    AND    ATTENDING    INCIDENTS,    CONTINUED. 

AFTER  Colonel  Davis  had  harvested  his  first  crops,  and  as  the 
autumn  was  drawing  to  a  close,  he  again  turned  his  attention  to 
his  imperfectly  finished  house,  and  commenced  fitting  it  up  in  the 
best  manner  the  circumstances  would  permit,  to  make  it  a  more 
comfortable  receptacle  for  his  family,  the  whole  of  whom  lie  in 
tended  removing  into  it,  from  Brookfield,  the  following  winter. 
An  oven  was  to  be  built,  a  cellar  to  be  dug  or  otherwise  con 
structed,  the  chimney  to  be  topped  out,  and  some  kind  of  floors 
to  be  contrived  and  supplied  to  the  house.  In  building  the  oven, 
a  stone  platform  was  laid  up  against  the  house  outside,  to  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  47 

height  of  an  ordinary  window-sill,  then  an  aperture  made  on  a 
level  with  it  into  the  house,  by  sawing  out  a  piece  of  one  of  the 
logs  of  the  walls,  and  then  an  oven  laid  up  of  stones  in  clay  mor 
tar,  so  built  that  the  mouth  opened  into  the  room  designed  for 
the  kitchen.  A  cellar  was  constructed  by  setting  a  low,  log 
frame-work  a  foot  or  two  into  the  ground,  placed  also  against  the 
outside  wall  of  the  house,  opening  into  the  kitchen  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  oven,  arid  made  impervious  to  the  frost  by  deeply 
banking  the  whole  frame-work  over  with  earth.  The  chimney 
\vas  topped  out  by  building  it  up  with  split  sticks  of  the  required 
length,  laid  in  clay  mortar,  and  so  laid  and  plastered  as  to  pre 
vent  any  of  their  surfaces  from  exposure  to  the  accidental  blaze, 
or  the  sparks  of  the  tire,  when  ascending  the  flue  of  the  struc 
ture.  To  provide  floors  for  the  two  rooms  of  the  house  was  a 
more  difficult  undertaking,  for,  there  being  no  saw-mills  yet  built 
\dthin  twenty  miles  of  the  place,  the  use  of  boards  or  plank  for 
the  purpose  was,  at  this  time,  entirely  out  of  the  question  ;  but 
a  substitute  for  the  latter  was  soon  found  in  the  free-splitting 
basswood.  Long,  straight-grained  trees  were  selected,  felled, 
cut  into  lengths  corresponding  to  the  width  of  the  rooms,  care 
fully  split,  with  a  series  of  wedges  through  the  whole  length  and 
breadth,  into  pieces  of  the  thickness  of  bridging  plank,  evened 
and  straightened  with  the  axe,  brought  in,  laid  on  sleepers,  and 
so  fitted  in  their  places  as  to  make  a  tight,  smooth,  white  floor, 
of  a  uniform  surface,  and  of  a  very  neat  general  appearance. 

Having  accomplished  ail  this  to  his  mind,  Colonel  Davis  gave 
ii})  work  for  the  season,  and,  with  his  sons,  returned  to  Brook- 
field,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  family  in  readiness  for  re 
moval,  and  then  removing  them  all,  with  their  goods,  with  the 
fall  of  the  first  snow  of  a  depth  sufficient  to  make  passable  sled 
ding. 

The  Colonel's  family  consisted,  at  this  time,  of  himself,  his  vigo 
rous  and  provident  wife,  his  two  sons  already  named,  and  four  very 
fair  and  promising  daughters,  who,  as  might  be  expected  from 
their  worth  and  personal  attractions,  as  well  as  from  the  influen 
tial  position  of  their  father,  were  destined  soon  to  become  the  wives 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  now  rapidly  increasing  settlements  in 
this  section  of  the  country.  Rebecca,  the  eldest,  married  the 
Ron.  Cornelius  Lynde,  of  Williamstown  ;  Hannah,  the  second, 
married  the  Hon.  David  Wing,  Jr.,  of  Montpelier  ;  Polly,  the 
third,  married  Captain  Thomas  West,  then  of  Montpelier,  but 
subsequently  removed  to  the  Western  country  ;  Lucy,  the  fourth, 
married  Captain  Timothy  Hubbard,  of  Montpelier  ;  and  Clarissa, 
the  fifth,  born  the  next  year  after  the  family  came  here,  married 
the  Hon.  George  AVorthington,  of  Montpelier, — all  of  whom, 


48  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

and  their  numerous  descendants,  have  taken  either  high  or  respec 
table  positions  in  society,  and  filled  Important  spaces  in  our  town 
history. 

A  snow  sufficiently  deep  for  their  purposes  having  fallen  the 
last  of  December,  Jacob  and  Thomas  'Davis,  with  two  of  their 
sisters,  Rebecca  and  Polly  Davis,  and  with  as  much  of  their  fur 
niture  as  could  be  brought  at  one  load,  came  over,  and  were  all 
left  here,  except  Jacob  who  returned  with  the  team  for  the  rest 
of  the  family.  But  before  the  latter  were  prepared  to  start, 
there  commenced  such  a  series  of  blocking  snow-storms  as  to  pre 
vent  their  removal  until  the  following  March,  Thomas  and  his 
two  sisters  having  remained  here  the  whole  intervening  time, 
during  which  not  another  human  face  made  its  appearance  at  their 
lonely,  snow-hedged  and  forest-girt  cabin.  At  length,  however, 
the  anxious  trio,  weary  of  waiting  and  watching,  were  relieved 
of  their  loneliness  by  the  welcome  arrival  of  the  rest  of  the 
family. 

The  appearance  of  Colonel  Davis  in  the  settlement  was,  as 
everywhere  else  where  he  appeared  in  those  days,  the  signal  for 
active  business.  Previously  engaged  hired  laborers  soon  fol 
lowed  him  from  Brookfield,  while  every  transient  man,  or  new 
coming  settler,  that  could  be  enlisted,  was  drawn  in  to  swell  the 
laboring  force,  which  amounted  sometimes,  it  is  said,  to  nearly 
twenty  men  ;  when  the  efforts  of  all  were  variously  directed  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  contemplated  enterprises  of  the  sea 
son.  These  enterprises  were  the  felling  and  clearing  of  further 
tracts  of  forest  on  the  different  pieces  of  bottom  land  adjoining 
the  domicile,  and  the  building  of  a  saw-mill.  And  so  vigorously 
were  they  prosecuted  that,  besides  the  planting  and  harvesting  of 
the  greatly  increased  crops  of  that  summer,  most  of  the  remain 
der  of  the  lower,  or  State  Street  meadow,  was  cleared,  consider- 
ble  inroad  made  on  the  forest  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Branch, 
and  the  meadow  on  the  westerly  side  mainly  cleared  up  to  and 
around  the  first  falls  on  that  stream,  a  good  saw-mill  built  on 
those  falls  and  got  to  running  ;  and  all  accomplished  before  the 
end  of  the  working  season  of  that  busy  year.  Early  the  next 
spring — that  of  1789 — Colonel  Davis  commenced,  and  during 
the  summer  completed  the  construction  of  a  grist-mill  at  the 
same  falls,  which,  considering  the  distance  and  the  extremely 
rough  roads  over  which  the  mill-stones  and  heavy  gearing  had  to 
be  transported,  was  an  enterprize,  at  that  day,  of  no  ordinary 
magnitude  to  be  accomplished  in  one  season.  The  sun  had  now 
been  let  in  on  forty  or  fifty  acres  of  land,  which  was  now  yield 
ing  crops  not  only  sufficient  for  home  consumption,  but  affording 
considerable  surplus  for  those  not  yet  able  to  raise  their  own 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  49 

supplies.  But  another  want  was  by  this  time  experienced  by 
Colonel  Davis  and  his  family — that  was,  the  want  of  a  larger 
and  more  convenient  house.  The  family  proper  now  consisted 
of  nine  persons.  In  all  the  working  season,  at  least,  he  kept 
many  hired  men,  while  his  house,  at  all  seasons,  was  almost  con 
tinually  thronged  by  land  lookers  and  freshly  arriving  new 
settlers,  who  had  already  begun  to  flock  into  this  and  the  other 
adjoining  townships,  and  who  evidently  regarded  this  central 
establishment  as  a  sort  of  head-quarters,  wheie  accommodations 
for  the  traveller  could  be  found,  land  purchased  of  the  Colonel, 
or  information  obtained  from  him  where  and  how  it  could  be 
purchased  of  others.  And  it  is  difficult  to  conceive,  at  this  day 
of  domestic  comforts  and  strangely  altered  customs  of  living, 
how  so  many  variously  assorted  people  could  be  accommodated, 
in  any  manner,  in  one  log  house,  with  only  two  rooms  and  a  low 
attic  chamber.  To  obviate  these  inconveniences,  Colonel  Davis 
therefore  decided  on  the  immediate  erection  of  a  large  frame 
house.  And  accordingly,  early  in  the  spring  of  1790,  the  timber 
for  the  frame  was  got  out,  boards  sawed,  shingles  made,  a  brick 
yard  opened  under  the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the  present  Cadwell 
house,  and  a  team  dispatched  to  Massachusetts  for  all  the  lime 
and  nails  required  in  the  construction.  As  soon  as  the  materials 
could  be  collected,  carpenters  were  put  in  requisition,  and  a  frame 
thrown  up  calculated  for  four  spacious  square  rooms  on  the 
ground  floor,  the  same  number  in  the  second  story  above,  and  a 
large  attic  extending  over  the  whole.  And  without  being  suffered 
to  rest  here,  the  business  was  prosecuted  with  so  much  spirit  that 
before  the  next  cold  weather  the  whole  structure  was  completed 
and  occupied  by  the  family.  This  building  wras  what  has  long 
since  been  known  as  the  old  Jail  House,  which  in  1858,  to  make 
room  for  the  new  brick  Jail  House,  was  removed  to  the  bank  of 
the  Branch  some  distance  above,  where  it  may  still  be  found,  in 
wrondrous  strength  of  frame,  and  in  a  remarkable  state  of  pres 
ervation.  This  was  the  first  frame  house  ever  built  throughout 
in  Montpelier.  The  bare  frame  of  a  large  one  story  dwelling 
house  had,  however,  been  got  out,  and  raised  a  few  days  before 
that  of  the  Davis  house,  located  about  a  mile  from  the  village,  on 
the  road  leading  by  Mr.  Henry  Nutt's,  and  afterwards  known  as 
the  old  Silloway  house.  But  the  work  was  not  immediately 
prosecuted,  and  the  Colonel's  was  the  first  frame  house  ever  fin 
ished  in  town.  The  house  on  the  hill,  which  was  built  by  Jarnes 
Hawkins,  the  first  Blacksmith  of  the  town,  and  finished  the  next 
year,  was  the  second  frame  house  built  in  the  town  ;  while  the 
old  house  still  standing  near  the  paper  mill  and  Arch  Bridge, 
and  formerly  known  as  the  Frye  house,  and  also  built  by  Haw- 


50  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

kins,  the  same  or  the  next  year,  was  the  third  ;  and  the  first 
Union  Bouse,  built  by  Colonel  Davis,  and  the  old  Cad  well  house, 
built  also  by  Hawkins  and  still  standing,  were  probably  the 
fourth  and  fifth. 

From  this  time  the  settlement  proceeded  apace.  During  the 
years  1789,  1790  and  1791,  over  twenty  families  had  moved  into 
town  ;  so  that  at  the  taking  of  the  first  U.  S.  Census,  in  1791, 
the  population  of  the  town  numbered  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
persons,  including  twenty-seven  legally  voting  freemen ;  while 
additional  numbers  were  constantly  arriving  to  increase  this  now 
fully  established  and  prosperous  settlement. 

Thus  far  we  have  almost  wholly  connected  our  descriptions  of 
the  early  settlement  of  the  town  with  the  action  and  movements 
of  Colonel  Davis  and  his  family.  This  we  have  done  because, 
for  the  lirst  two  years  after  he  came,  his  was  the  only  perma 
nently  resident  family  here,  and  his  history  consequently  became 
the  history  of  the  town  during  those  two  first  important  years  of 
its  existence  ;  and  also  because  by  his  energy  and  judicious  cal 
culation  was  the  lirst  great  impetus  given  to  the  settlement,  and 
its  rapid  subsequent  progress  insured  ;  while  his  opinions  and 
examples  continued,  it  is  evident,  long  and  largely  to  operate  on 
cotemporary  and  succeding  settlers,  in  imbuing  them  with  his  own 
qualities,  in  giving  a  healthy  tone  to  coming  society  in  regard  to 
frugality,  industry  and  perseverance,  and  in  keeping  up  in  it 
those  invaluable  traits  and  that  spirit  of  enterprise  which  made 
the  town  what  it  subsequently  became  in  individual  thrift  and 
general  prosperity.  But  the  town  had  now  become  sufficiently 
populous  to  warrant,  and  even  require,  a  municipal  organization, 
which,  by  the  consent  of  all,  was  about  to  be  effected.  Individ 
ual  description  and  accounts  will,  therefore,  henceforth  mainly  be 
merged  in  the  general  history  of  the  settlement,  and  of  the  town 
in  its  corporate  capacity. 

Before  proceeding  with  this,  however,  we  should  relate  several 
characteristic  or  noted  incidents  which  occurred  at  different 
periods  during  the  first  four  years  of  the  settlement,  and  without 
the  relation  of  which  our  picture  of  the  times  would  hardly  be 
complete  ;  and  having  heretofore  found  no  convenient  place  for 
them,  we  will  here  introduce  them,  as  properly  constituting  the 
closing  part  of  this  chapter. 

We  have  noted  the  construction  of  the  first  frame  house  as 
constituting  a  marked  era  in  the  progress  of  the  settlement.  But 
of  scarcely  less  practical  importance,  perhaps,  was  the  event  of 
the  introduction  of  the  first  wheel  carriage,  which  was  effected, 
in  the  face  of  what  would  now  be  considered  insurmountable  dif 
ficulties,  during  the  second  summer  after  Colonel  Davis  made 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  f)l 

here  the  iirst  opening  in  the  forest.  The  Colonel,  in  a  journey 
to  the  other  side  of  the  mountain — probably  a  journey  to  attend 
one  of  the  Proprietors'  meeting  at  Arlington — had  heard  of,  and 
purchased,  a  stout  wagon  at  Vergennes ;  but  the  question  was 
how  it  could  be  got  home  to  Montpelier,  from  which,  down  the 
river  to  Williston,  none  other  than  a  bridle  path,  or  at  best  a 
rough,  winter  sled  road  had,  as  yet,  been  opened.  Thomas  Da 
vis,  however,  then  a  strong,  resolute  boy  of  sixteen,  volunteered 
to  enter  alone  on  the  arduous  undertaking.  Accordingly,  taking 
a  horse,  some  kind  of  a  harness  and  an  axe,  he  repaired  to  Ver 
gennes,  fitted  in  a  rude  pair  of  thills,  and  commenced  his  slow 
journey  homeward.  He  found  but  little  difficulty  in  getting 
along  to  Governor  Chittendeir  s  at  Williston  :  but  dubious  enough 
appeared  the  prospect  of  working  his  way  through  from  that 
place  up  to  Montpelier.  By  frequently  stopping  to  cut  away 
logs  and  trees  to  make  the  path  wide  enough  to  permit  the  pas 
sage  of  the  wagon,  he  at  length,  however,  made  out  to  reach  the 
then  formidable  rocky  pass,  or  rather  precipice,  afterwards  known 
as  Rock  Bridge,  on  the  old  turnpike,  about  a  mile  above  Water- 
bury  bridge,  on  the  Moretown  side  of  the  Winooski.  This  pass, 
on  the  subsequent  opening  of  the  road,  and  especially  on  the  con 
struction  of  the  turnpike,  was  blasted  down,  and  the  gulf  on  the 
east  side  filled  up  as  much  as  possible,  without  incurring  enor 
mous  expenses.  And,  even  at  that,  it  was  far  the  most  precipi 
tons  and  dangerous  part  of  the  whole  road  from  Montpelier  to 
Burlington.  It  was  then  a  high,  steep,  rough  ledge,  around  or 
above  which,  winding  among  the  rocks  and  fallen  trees,  a  path 
had  been  blocked  out  barely  passable  for  a  single  horse.  But 
the  persevering  lad  was  not  to  be  balked  in  his  purpose  even  at 
this  difficulty.  Having  Iirst  taken  out  aud  led  his  horse  down 
round  to  the  flat  below,  and  rolled  up  the  wagon  to  the  brink  of 
the  ledge,  he  contrived,  by  means  of  a  pole  and  withes,  to  fasten 
or  connect  it  to  the  top  of  a  young  tree,  and  then,  by  the  mo 
mentum  of  the  wagon  and  his  own  exertions,  lie  bent  forward 
the  tree  and  thus  let  down  the  wagon  fifteen  or  twenty  feet. 
Here  he  secured  it  on  the  side  of  the  ledge,  by  shoring  it  up  with 
poles  or  rocks,  as  he  best  could,  released  the  first  tree  and  fas 
tened  to  another,  by  which  he  let  down  the  wagon  another  space, 
and  so  proceeded  till  he  had  got  the  ponderous  vehicle  to  the 
bottom  of  the  precipice  ;  when  he  again  put  in  his  horse,  made 
his  way  up  the  river,  forded  it  below  the  mouth  of  Mad  River, 
crossed  over  into  the  better  road  in  Middlesex,  and  at  last 
reached  home  in  safety. 

There  were  no  extraordinary  floods  during  the  first  few  years 
of  the  settlement;  but  there  had  evidently  been  one  not  long 


52  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

before,  in  which  the  Winooski  rose  higher  than  it  has  from  that 
day  to  this.  When  Colonel  Davis  and  his  men  were  felling  the 
trees  on  the  spot  where  the  Pavilion  Hotel  now  stands,  which 
was  a  knoll  many  feet  higher  than  any  part  of  the  meadow 
lying  south  and  east  of  it,  and  which  has  never  since  been  over 
flowed,  they  found  the  sand  in  the  moss  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  trunks,  at  the  height  at  which  they  wished  to  make  their  in 
cisions,  so  thick  that,  even  on  that  knoll,  they  had  to  clear  away 
the  moss  to  save  their  axes  from  dulling.  This  sand  had  ob 
viously  been  lodged  there  by  the  water,  and  as  obviously  marked 
the  height  to  which  that  great  flood  attained.  This  was  con 
firmed  by  a  living  withesc,  of  both  that  flood  and  the  great  flood 
of  1830,  which  last,  by  most  people,  was  said  to  be  the  highest 
that  ever  occurred.  That  witness  was  Judge  Seth  Putnam,  of 
Middlesex,  who,  being  alive  in  1830,  affirmed  that  the  first  year 
he  came  into  that  town,  about  two  years  before  the  coining  of 
Colonel  Davis,  there  was  a  remarkable  flood,  which  reached  to  a 
certain  tree  or  rock  on  his  farm,  and  which,  by  comparison,  was 
found  to  be  considerably  higher  than  the  highest  water  mark  of 
the  flood  of  1830. 

But  though  there  were  probably  few  great  floods  in  those  early 
times,  the  streams  were  yet,  when  compared  with  those  of  the 
present  day,  almost  continually  very  flush  of  water.  The  evapo 
ration  from  forest  lands  is  comparatively  small  ;  while  their  thick 
mosses,  leaves,  rotting  wood  and  loose  soil  take  up  the  heavy 
rains  like  a  sponge,  and  leave  them  to  drain  off  slowly  ;  so  that, 
through  the  operation  of  both  these  causes,  the  streams,  admit 
ting  the  yearly  fall  of  water  to  be  the  same,  would  be  far  less 
liable  to  sudden  and  great  fluctuations,  but  would  be,  at  the  same 
time,  generally  kept  flush  and  full,  as  they  were  almost  invariably 
found  to  be  while  the  country  was  covered  with  forests.  Indeed, 
there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the  average  quantity  of  wa 
ter  then  discharged  by  our  rivers  was  very  nearly  double  that 
discharged  by  them  now.  But  still  it  is  to  the  rivers  of  a  cleared 
country  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  highest  and  most  dangerous 
floods.  It  must  have  been  indeed  a  tremendous  rain  that  pro 
duced  the  great  flood  we  have  just  noticed  as  occurring  here 
about  the  year  1785.  Such  an  one  now  would  convert  the  whole 
site  of  Montpelier  into  a  lake  deep  enough  to  be  navigated  by  a 
light  draft  steamboat.  And  the  same  causes  that  so  equalized  the 
water  in  summer,  probably  had  considerable  effect  in  modifying 
and  equalizing  the  temperature  in  winter,  admitting  of  fewer 
thaws,  but,  at  the  same  time,  of  fewer  days  of  intense  coldness. 
At  any  rate,  the  snows  commenced  early,  covered  the  ground 
continuously  through  the  winter,  but  gradually  melting  away  in 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  53 

the  spring,  at  length  brought  out  the  earth,  like  a  fever  patient 
from  a  wet  blanket,  smoking,  warm  and  renovated,  with  all  the 
circulating  fluids  in  full  play  to  quicken  and  push  forward  an  ex 
uberant  vegetation.  The  absence  of  thaws  of  course  left  the 
snows  to  accumulate  steadily  through  the  winter,  and  often  to 
become  piled  up  to  an  enormous  depth  before  spring.  This,  on 
account  of  turning  out,  rendered  travelling  inconvenient  on  all 
the  roads,  while  on  the  unfrequented  roads  it  was  often  wholly 
discontinued.  This  difficulty  of  the  turning  out  of  meeting- 
sleighs  was  pleasantly  illustrated  in  an  incident  which  occurred 
to  t\vo  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  region,  and  which,  as  it  not 
only  serves  our  present  purpose,  but  shows  the  peculiarly  strong 
traits  of  one  who  afterwards  became  one  of  the  most  noted  char 
acters  of  this  part  of  the  country,  we  will  take  the  liberty  here 
to  relate  : 

While  the  settlements  of  this  arid  the  neighboring  towns  were 
yet  in  their  infancy,  Josiah  Benjamin,  Esq.,  one  of  the  early  set 
tlers  of  Berlin,  whose  old  farm  lies  within  about  a  mile  and  in 
sight  of  our  village,  set  out,  with  a  two  horse  sleigh  deeply  load 
ed  with  wheat,  for  the  market  of  Boston  ;  and  when  he  reached 
Williamstown,  he  was  joined  by  Elijah  Paine,  the  first  settler  of 
that  town,  with  a  similar  load  and  bound  to  the  same  destination. 
"  The  snow,"  said  Mr.  Benjamin,  from  whose  lips,  in  his  life 
time,  we  had  the  account,  "  was,  at  that  time,  quite  solid,  and 
nearly  five  feet  deep  on  the  level,  making  it  utterly  impossible  to 
turn  out,  unless  we  were  lucky  enough  to  hit  on  some  place 
where  the  snow  had  been  beaten  down  for  that  purpose.  In  go 
ing  through  Brookfield,  and  while  in  one  of  the  worst  places,  we 
met  a  team  loaded  with  salt ;  when,  finding  there  was  no  possi 
bility  of  getting  by  each  other,  except  by  unloading  all  our 
sleighs  and  then  turning  them  up  sideways  on  each  side  of  the 
snow-walled  path,  and  so  running  them  by  each  other  empty,  we 
all  fell  to,  unloaded  the  three  sleighs,  run  the  man's  sleigh  past 
ours,  and,  as  it  happened,  first  loaded  up  his  sleigh  and  got  him 
ready  to  start.  Judge  Paine  and  myself  then  turned  back  for 
the  purpose  of  loading  up  our  own  teams,  expecting,  of  course, 
that  the  stranger  would  assist  us.  But  the  next  instant  we  heard 
the  loud  crack  of  his  whip,  when  looking  round,  we  saw  the  fel 
low  mounted  on  his  sleigh  and  lashing  his  horses  into  a  run,  to 
escape  and  leave  us  to  do  our  own  work.  The  Judge  looked 
after  the  pitiful  fugitive  an  instant,  with  eyes  that  fairly  flashed 
lire  ;  when,  suddenly  dashing  off  his  hat  and  great-coat,  he  gave 
chase  on  foot,  running  as  I  think  I.  never  saw  any  one  run  before, 
till  he  overtook  the  team,  leaped  like  a  tiger  upon  the  load, 
seized  the  shrinking  puppy  by  the  collar  and  made  a  flying  leap 


54  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

with  him  sideways  into  the  snow.  He  then  drew  his  prisoner 
into  the  road  and  led  him  back  to  our  loads  ;  when,  giving  him 
a  mighty  significant  push  towards  our  bags  of  wheat,  still  lying 
untouched  on  the  snow,  he  coolly,  and  with  that  sort  of  curt,  dig 
nified  politeness  which,  even  in  moments  of  anger,  rarely  ever 
forsook  him,  observed — '  There,  friend,  if  you  'will  take  hold  of 
those  bags,  and  load  up  both  of  our  sleighs,  v:e  wilt  be  much 
obliged  to  you — very  much  obliged  to  you,  sir.7  And  the  fellow 
sheepishly  did  so,  to  the  last  bag,  while  we  both  looked  on,  the 
Judge  not  permitting  me  to  lend  the  least  assistance  ;  when  we 
drove  on,  leaving  him  to  sneak  back  after  his  own  team,  with  all 
the  comforting  reflection  which  the  incident  was  calculated  to 
suggest  to  him." 

During  the  continuance  of  the  deep  snows,  at  this  period, 
travelling  was  mostly  performed  on  rackets,  or  snow-shoes  ;  while 
hand-sleds  were  used  for  drawing  all  the  various  kinds  of  light 
luggage.  In  this  manner  Abijah  Wheelock  and  Samuel  Twiss, 
two  of  the  first  settlers  of  Calais,  having  arrived  at  Colonel 
Davis',  from  Massachusetts,  in  the  winter  season  of  1789,  trav 
elled,  with  their  wives,  one  child,  some  bedding,  &c.,  to  their 
previously  erected  log  houses  in  that  town,  a  distance  of  ten 
miles.  But  the  greatest  feat  of  female  racket  travelling  ever 
told  us  was  accomplished  by  a  young  girl  of  the  neighboring 
town  of  Waterbury,  on  a  mournful  occasion,  which,  as  it  was 
connected  with  the  fortunes  of  one  of  our  early  settlers,  it  may 
not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  here  to  relate,  as  well  as  the  remark 
able  feat  we  have  just  mentioned. 

James  Marsh,  who  was  the  first  settler  of  Waterbury,  under 
took,  in  the  month  of  March,  1785, — the  winter  season  after  lie 
removed  to  that  town,  with  a  wife  and  eight  children, — to  go  to 
mill  on  rackets,  with  a  bag  of  grain  on  his  back,  to  Jericho, 
through  the  then  unpathed  forest,  a  distance  of  about  twenty 
miles.  After  getting  his  grist  ground,  and  coming  with  it  two  or 
three  miles  up  the  river  homeward,  he  crossed  over  the  stream 
on  the  ice,  to  a  settler's  house  on  the  west  side,  for  the  purpose 
of  running  some  pewter  spoons  for  the  use  of  his  family,  in  the 
spoon  mould  the  settler  was  known  to  have.  When  he  had  run 
his  spoons,  and  borrowed  or  bought  a  brass  kettle  which  he  found 
he  could  obtain  of  the  settler,  to  do  his  sugaring  with,  he  at 
tempted  to  recross  the  river,  with  the  kettle  swung  over  his  head 
or  neck,  but  broke  through  the  ice  into  an  undetected,  thinly 
covered  glade  in  the  stream,  and,  incumbered  as  he  was  with  his 
grist,  kettle  and  rackets,  was  unable  to  extricate  himself,  and 
after  beating  out  an  open  place  a  dozen  rods  down  the  glade,  in 
his  terrible  struggles  for  life,  was  swept  under  the  ice  before 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  55 

those  whom  his  cries  for  assistance  had  attracted  could  reach  the 
spot.  His  body  was  soon  recovered,  but,  as  it  was  so  difficult  to 
get  it  home,  it  was  decided  to  bury  him  in  that  neighborhood  ; 
and  his  oldest  daughter,  the  only  member  of  his  family  which 
circumstances  would  permit  of  attending,  went  seventeen  miles 
on  rackets  to  the  funeral,  on  the  morning  of  the  day  of  his 
burial.* 

William  Marsh,  a  son  of  the  unfortunate  man,  subsequently, 
in  consequence  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  family  by  this  sad  cas 
ualty,  came  to  live  with  Colonel  Davis  ;  and  with  the  forty  pounds 
paid  him  as  wages,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  purchased  the  farm 
near  the  village,  up  the  Branch,  where  he  ever  continued  to  re 
side,  ari  industrious  and  thrifty  farmer,  until  his  death,  which 
was  occasioned  by  the  ialling  of  a  tree,  some  years  ago.  His 
widow,  an  unusually  smart  and  intelligent  old  lady,  from  whose 
lips  we  recently  obtained  the  particulars  of  the  incident  above 
related,  is  now  residing  with  one  of  her  sons  in  this  village. 

An  event  occurred  during  the  first  winter  after  Colonel  Davis 
moved  into  his  new  house,  which  afforded  the  settlers  the  unex 
pected  opportunity  of  setting  their  eyes  on  embodied  royalty,  in 
the  person  of  Prince  Edward,  on  the  occasion  of  his  passage 
through  this  part  of  the  country  from  Montreal  to  Boston.  The 
Prince  was,  of  course,  the  son  of  the  bigoted  and  muddy  brained 
George  III.,  and  must  have  been,  if  all  accounts  of  him  were  cor 
rect,  a  true  chip  of  the  old  basswook  block.  At  all  events,  his 
sayings  and  doings,  as  he  passed  through  these  settlements,  fur 
nished  the  people  with  food  for  many  a  merry  commentary  on  his 
astuteness.  Reaching  here  from  Burlington  in  one  day,  he  and 
his  suit  put  up  with  Colonel  Davis  over  night.  Full  of  the  no 
tion  that  the  Americans,  especially  on  the  border  settlements  of 
the  North  where  his  countrymen  in  the  then  recent  war  had 
received  several  costly  lessons,  were  little  better  than  savages, 
and  probably  still  hostile  in  spirit,  he  at  first  was  evidently  keenly 
apprehensive  of  personal  danger  from  assassination  or  poison. 
And  to  guard  against  the  former,  he  had  brought  along  with  him 
a  band  of  fifteen  or  twenty  armed  attendants  ;  while,  to  ensure 
his  safety  from  the  latter,  he  had  provided  several  of  what  our 
people  called  his  tasters,  who  must  examine,  taste  and  eat  a  por- 


*  James  Marsh  moved,  with  his  family — wife  and  eight  children — into  Waterbury, 
June,  1784,  and  during  that  whole  year  was  the  only  settler  in  town.  The  late  vener 
able  Philip  Sprague,  father  of  the  Jdon.  Worcester" Spragne,  of  Montpelier,  while  on 
a  visit  to  his  son,  the  year  before  his  death,  which  occurred  at  the  age  of  about  ninety- 
three,  but  two  or  three  years  ago,  related  how,  to  his  surprise,  he  found,  on  a  foot 
journey  through  this  part  of  the  State,  this  solitary  family  in  Waterbury,  in  a  little 
opening  in  the  wilderness,  with  no  other  resident  within  thirty  miles  south,  and 
scarcely  less  that  distance  in  any  other  direction,  living  on  game  and  what  breadstuff 
Mr.  Marsh  brought  on  his  back  from  Jericho. 


56  HISTORY  OP  MONTPELIER. 

tion  of  every  meal  prepared  for  him  before  he  would  venture  to 
touch  it  himself.  He  was  so  far  reassured,  however,  the  next 
morning,  by  a  long  talk  with  Colonel  Davis,  who  greatly  enlight 
ened  him  respecting  the  intelligence  and  moral  sense  of  our 
people,  and  who  told  him  he  was  far  safer  here  than  in  the  streets 
of  London,  that  he  consented  to  dismiss  the  greater  part  of  his 
armed  retainers  to  return  to  Montreal ;  and  he  then  resumed  his 
journey  in  much  better  spirits.  His  next  stop  was  at  Judge 
Paine's,  of  Williamstown,  for  his  dinner.  Here  he  began  to  be 
himself  again,  and  seemed  disposed  to  become  quite  chatty  and 
jocose.  "  I  suppose,  madam,"  he  said  to  Mrs.  Paine,  among 
other  of  his  witty  efforts,  "  that  you  here  never  read  anything 
but  your  Bible  and  Psalm  Book  ? " 

"  0,  yes,  we  do,"  promptly  replied  Mrs.  Paine,  "  we  are  all 
quite  familiar  with  the  writings  of  one  Peter  Pindar." 

Those  who  have  read  the  scorching  satires  of  Pindar  on  the 
character  and  capacities  of  the  then  Royal  family  will  readily 
appreciate  the  keenness  of  the  Lady's  retort. 

Still  another  incident  has  always  been  related  by  our  old  peo 
ple,  of  his  journey  through  Vermont,  which  occurred  at  the 
house  of  a  shoemaker  on  the  road,  where,  for  some  purpose,  he 
had  made  a  short  call.  By  this  time  he  had  become  so  mucli 
like  himself  at  home,  that  he  rudely  stepped  up  and  kissed  the 
shoemaker's  wife,  observing,  by  way  of  soothing  her  evident  re 
sentment  :  "  0,  never  mind  it — you  now  can  tell  your  people  you 
have  had  the  honor  of  being  kissed  by  a  British  Prince." 

"  0,  never  mind,"  exclaimed  the  incensed  husband,  as  he  un- 
ceremoneously  sent  the  Royal  puppy  from  the  house  by  a  kick  in 
the  rear — "  0,  never  mind,  sir  ;  you  can  now  go  home  and  tell 
your  people  you  have  had  the  honor  of  being  kicked  out  of  doors 
by  an  American  cobbler." 

But  the  most  striking,  because  the  most  melancholy  event  that 
ever  transpired  here,  happened  on  the  night  of  the  3d  of  Decern- 
ber,1791,and  became  doubly  memorable  in  all  this  region  by  its  sad 
dening  character,  and  its  association  with  the  first  Thanksgiving 
ever  held  in  the  settlement.  Yes,  it  was  on  the  then  novel  occa 
sion  of  a  first  ball,  on  a  first  Thanksgiving.  Animated  by  the 
anticipated  pleasures  of  the  day,  the  young  men  and  maidens 
of  this  and  the  neighboring  settlements,  for  many  miles  around, 
assembled,  in  mutually  chosen  and  happy  pairs,  at  the  house  of 
Colonel  Davis,  to  while  away  the  golden  hours  in  the  lively  dance. 
Here  everything  went  on  as  merry  as  a  marriage  bell ;  and  the 
festivities  were  prolonged  nearly  through  the  night  by  the  joyous 
company,  who  little  dreamed  that  the  next  repose  of  one  of  the 
most  loved  and  loving  pairs  of  their  gay  and  happy  assemblage 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  57 

would  be  the  repose  of  death,  in  the  cold,  watery  bed  of  the 
dark  and  turbid   Winooski.     A  little  before  daylight,  however, 
the  company  broke  up  and  departed  for  their  respective  homes. 
Among-  this  light-hearted  party  were  two  fair  and  blooming  sis 
ters,  the  daughters  of  Captain  James  Hobart,   one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  Berlin,  who  then  resided  on  what  was  subsequently 
known  as  the  old  Maj.  Jones'  farm,  near  the  river,  about  three 
miles  below  Montpelier  village.     Betsey  Hobart,  one  of  these 
sisters,  and  a  young  lady  everywhere  respected  for  her  virtues  and 
personal   attractions,  was  attended   by  Theophilus  Brooks,  of 
Montpelier,  her  affianced  lover.     The  other  sister  was  attended 
by  the  afterwards  well  known  Captain  Isaac  Putnam,  then  one  of 
the  most  herculean  and  resolute  young  men  among  the  Montpe 
lier  settlers.     There  being  at  that  period  no  bridges  across  the 
river,  and  the  stream  being  unfordable,  the  party,  on  going  from 
Montpelier,  passed  down  the  same  side  of  the  river  to  a  canoe 
landing  in  the  borders  of  Middlesex,  nearly  opposite  to  the  home 
of  the   young  ladies.     Here  they  all  embarked  in   a  log  canoe 
which  was  used  for  crossing  at  this  place.     The  river  was  swolen 
by  recent  rains,  and  the  current  was  strong  and  rapid  ;  and  this 
circumstance,  and  the  nervous  alarms  of  the  females,  which  prob 
ably    prevented    them   from    preserving    the    balance    of    their 
rolling  vessel,   caused  the  canoe  to  upset,  when  the  four  were 
precipitated  into  the   deepest  part  of  the  high,  wintry  stream. 
By  almost  superhuman  exertions,  Putnam  at  last  succeeded  in 
righting  the  boat,  and  placing  within  it  not  only  the  two  girls, 
but  Brooks,  who,  being  unable  to  swim,  was  equally  helpless. 
But  the  three  latter  had  how  lost  all  their  self-possession,  and 
the  canoe  being  partially  water-logged,   which  rendered  it  far 
more  unsafe  than  before,  they  were  all  again  upset  and  plunged 
into  the  stream.     By  this  time  Putnam   had  become  so  much 
chilled  and  exhausted  as  to  prevent  him  from  attempting  to  save 
them  all ;  and  seizing  his  own  partner,  he  barely  succeeded  in 
swimming  with  her  to  the  Berlin  shore  ;  while  the  despairing 
outcries  of  the  fated  Brooks,  and  the  shrieks  of  his  fair  compan 
ion  in  death,  as  well  as  in   life,  were  soon  lost  in  the  rushing 
murmurs  of  the  dark  and  angry  nood,  beneath  which  they  now 
disappeared  forever.     The  body  of  Miss  Hobart  was  recovered 
the  next  day,  but  that  of  Brooks  was  not  found  till  the  breaking 
up  of  the  ice  months  afterwards. 


58  HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   ORGANIZATION    OP    THE    TOWN,    AND    ITS    MUNICIPAL     HISTORY 
POR   THE    FIRST   TWELVE   YEARS. 

ON  the  4th  day  of  March,  1791,  was  made  the  first  movement 
among  the  inhabitants  of  Montpelier  towards  effecting  a  munici 
pal  organization  of  their  town.  On  that  day  the  following  peti 
tion  of  three  of  the  freeholders  of  the  town  of  Montpelier  was 
presented  to  John  Taplin,  Esq.,  a  resident  of  Berlin,  but  a  Jus 
tice  of  the  Peace  of  Orange  County,  to  which  both  Berlin  and 
Montpelier  then  belonged  : 

u  1o  John  Taplin,  Esquire  : 

"  The  Petition  of  the  subscribers,  inhabitants  and  freeholders 
of  the  town  of  Montpelier,  prays  your  Honor  to  issue  a  warrant 
for  calling  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  said  town,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  organizing  said  town. 

"JACOB  DAVIS, 
"CLARK  STEVENS, 
"JONATHAN  CUTLER. 
"  March  4th,  1791." 

A  statute  of  one  of  the  first  Legislatures  of  Vermont,  then  in 
force  and  ever  since  retained  on  our  Statute  Book,  required  the 
petition  of  four  respectable  freeholders  as  the  initiatory  step  in 
the  organization  of  new  towns  ;  and  it  cannot  now  be  ascertained 
why  that  requirement  of  the  law  was  not  complied  with  in  this 
first  step  towards  the  organization  of  Montpelier.  Bat  it  is 
probable  enough  that  Colonel  Davis,  who  must  have  known  the 
law,  drew  up  the  petition,  signed  it  and  sent  it  to  Mr.  Stevens, 
with  directions  to  pass  it  round  till  the  required  number  was  ob 
tained  ;  that  the  last  signer,  through  some  misapprehension  or 
inadvertency,  neglected  to  procure  a  fourth  signer,  and  passed  it 
at  once  to  the  Justice,  who  either  took  no  exceptions  to  it  as  it 
was,  or  expecting  some  other  person  would  call  and  sign  it  to 
justify  him  in  the  procedure,  thereupon  issued  the  following  war 
rant: 

t  n  [To  Clark  Stevens,  one  of  the  principal  in- 

\  habitants  of  the  town  of  Montpelier, 

"  GREETING  : 

"  By  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  you  are  hereby 
required  to  warn  all  the  freeholders,  and  other  inhabitants  of  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  59 

town  of  Montpelier  to  meet  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Jacob  Da 
vis,  in  said  Montpelier,  on  Tuesday,  the  29th  day  of  March 
instant,  at  9  of  the  clock,  in  the  morning,  to  act  on  the  follow 
ing  articles,  viz  : — 

u  1st.  To  choose  a  Moderator  to  govern  said  meeting. 

a  2nd.  To  choose  a  Clerk,  Selectmen,  Treasurer,  and  all  other 
Town  Officers. 

"  3d,  To  see  if  said  town  will  choose  some  proper  person  to 
remove  the  Proprietors'  records  into  said  town. 

u  Given  under  mi/  hand,  at  Berlin*  this  8fh  day  of  March,  1791 . 

"JOHN  TAPLIN,  Jus.  Peace." 

And  on  the  same  day  Mr.  Stevens,  in  pursuance  of  the  fore- 
f>'oin£,  posted  the  following  notice  probably  at  the  house  of  Colo 
nel  Davis,  at  his  Grist-mill,  ai  d  perhaps  at  some  other  place  of 
public  resort  in  the  central  part  of  the  town,  viz  : 

"  By  virtue  of  a  warrant  to  me  directed  by  John  Taplin,  Esq., 
this  is  therefore  to  notify  and  warn  all  the  ireeholders  and  other 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Montpelier  to  meet  at  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Jacob  Davis,  in  said  Montpelier,  on  Tuesday,  the  29th 
day  of  March,  instant,  at  9  of  the  clock  in  the  morning,  to  act 
on  the  following  articles  : 

"  1st,  To  choose  a  Moderator  to  govern  said  meeting. 

k-  2nd,  To  choose  a  Clerk,  Selectmen,  Treasurer,  and  all  other 
Town  Officers. 

"  3d.  To  see  if  said  town  will  choose  some  proper  person  to 
remove  the  Proprietors'  records  into  said  town. 
"  CLARK  STEVENS, 

"  An  Inhabitant  of  said  Town. 

"  March  8th,  1791." 

And,  in  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  warning,  all  the  freehol 
ders,  and  other  legally  voting  inhabitants  of  Montpelier,  assem 
bled  at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  and  effected  the  objects  of 
their  meeting  in  the  following  transactions,  from  the  old  record 
of  which  we  copy  verbatim  : 

a  At  a  town  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Montpelier,  legally 
warned  and  met  at  the  dwelling-house  of  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  in 
said  Montpelier,  on  the  29th  day  of  March,  1791, — 

:t  Proceeded  to  choose  a  Moderator,  &c.,  <fcc. 

"  1st,  Voted,  and  chose  Col.  Jacob  Davis  Moderator  to  gov 
ern  said  meeting. 

"  2nd,    Voted,  and  chose  Ziba  Woodworth  Town  Clerk. 

»'  3d.    Voted,  and  chose  James  Hawkins  1st  Select  Man. 

"  4th,   Voted,  and  chose  James  Taggart  2nd  Select  Man. 


60  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

u  5th,    Voted,  and  chose  Hiram  Peck  3d  Select  Man. 

"  6th,   Voted,  and  chose  Jonathan  Cutler  Town  Treasurer. 

u  7th,    Voted,  and  chose PearleyDavis  Constable  and  Collector. 

u  8th,    Voted)  and  chose  Josiah  Hurlburt,  )    lr  , 

"  9th,    Voted,  and  chose  Benj.  I.  Wheeler,  f  ,, 

"  10th,    Voted,  and  chose  Solomon  Dodge  )  - 

"llth,   Voted,  and  chose  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  } 

"  12th,   Voted,  and  chose  Benj.  I.  Wheeler,  |-  Listers. 

"  13th,    Voted,  and  chose  Clark  Stevens         } 

"  14th,   Voted,  and  chose  Col.  Jacob  Davis  Fence  Viewer. 

"  15th,  Voted  to  adjourn  said  meeting  till  the  1st  Tuesday  of 
September. 

"  The  aforementioned  officers  were  duly  sworn  and  affirmed  to 
the  faithful  discharge  of  their  respective  offices,  before  John 
Taplin,  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  said  County. 

"  ZIBA  WOOD  WORTH,  Town  Clerk." 

Accompanying  this  record,  we  find  the  names  of  the  voters 
who  acted  in  thus  organizing  the  town,  and  who,  as  the  record 
leads  us  to  infer,  constituted  the  whole  number  of  its  freemen  at 
that  time,  as  follows,  viz  : 

BENJAMIN  I.  WHEELER,   ELISHA  CUMMINS, 

DAVID  PARSONS,  JONATHAN  CUTLER, 

PEARLEY  DAVIS,  CHARLES  McCLOUD, 

EBENEZER  DODGE,  COL.  JACOB  DAVIS, 

SOLOMON  DODGE,  ISAAC  PUTNAM, 

NATHANIEL  PECK,  NATHANIEL  DAVIS, 

DAVID  WING,  ZIBA  WOOD  WORTH, 

LEMUEL  BROOKS,  JERAHMEL  WHEELER, 

CLARK  STEVENS,  SMITH  STEVENS, 

JONATHAN  SNOW,  CHALES  STEVENS, 

HIRAM  PECK,  EDMUND  DOTY, 

JAMES  HAWKINS,  DUNCAN  YOUNG, 

JAMES  TAGGART,  FREEMAN  WEST. 
JOHN  TEMPLETON, 

Of  all  this  enterprising  and  intelligent  band,  twenty-seven  in 
number,  so  distinguished  by  the  circumstances  as  the  founders 
and  first  freemen  of  Montpelier,  but  one, — it  is  sad  to  reflect, — 
but  one,  at  the  time  we  are  penning  this  page,  (November  the 
15th,  1859,)  alone  remains  alive — the  venerable  Elisha  Cummins, 
who,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  still  resides  with  his  family,  con 
sisting  of  several  of  his  children  and  grand-children,  on  his 
original  homestead,  two  miles  east  of  Montpelier  village.  But 
they  nearly  all  still  live,  and  their  wholesome  examples  of  fru- 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER.  HI 

gality  and  honest  industry  still  live,  in  their  numerous  descen 
dants,  who  now  constitute,  probably,  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  united  town  of  Montpelier. 

Previous  to  the  time  to  which  the  meeting  above  described  had 
been  adjourned  the  Selectmen  called  a  special  town  meeting, 
to  assemble  on  the  10th  of  May,  to  provide  for  the  making  of 
roads  and  bridges,  procuring  town  record  books,  and  such  other 
business  as  should  be  deemed  necessary  when  met.  And  at  the 
meeting  thus  called  David  Wing,  Jr.,  having  been  chosen  Mod 
erator,  it  was 

ki  }roted  to  raise  fifty  pounds  for  the  repairing  of  roads  and 
bridges  in  said  town. 

"  Voted,  and  chose  Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  Larned  Lamb  and 
Pearley  Davis,  a  committee  to  superintend  the  business  of  repair 
ing  the  river  bridge. 

4;  Voted  to  reconsider  the.  vote  for  raising  fifty  pounds  for  the 
repairing  of  roads  and  bridges  in  said  town.  Likewise  (voted) 
for  each  person  to  pay  his  highway  tax  agreeably  to  the  statute. 

u  Voted  to  raise  money  by  subscription  to  purchase  town  books. 

tk  Voted)  and  chose  the  Town  Clerk  to  collect  said  money  and 
purchase  suitable  record  books  ;  likewise  to  collect  the  labor  to 
repair  the  bridge. 

kt  Voted  to  hold  town  meetings,  for  the  future,  at  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Pearley  Davis/' 

At  the  adjourned  meeting,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  September, 
nothing  appears  to  have  "been  done  except  to  choose  and  qualify 
Benjamin  1.  Wheeler  a  Town  Grand  Juror.  From  what  next  ap 
pears  on  the  records,  however,  it  would  appear  probable  that 
some  informal  action  was  taken  at  this  last  meeting  to  insure  a 
compliance  with  a  statute  which  had  been  passed  a  year  or  two 
before  by  the  Legislature,  requiring  the  stock  owners  of  eacli 
town  to  distinguish  their  respective  animals  by  some  peculiar 
mark  on  or  around  the  ear  ;  and  when  these  marks  were  agreed 
on,  adjusted  and  made  by  and  among  such  owners,  to  cause  brief 
descriptions  of  them  to  be  entered  on  the  town  records,  as  notice 
to  all  concerned  for  the  return  of  estrays  to  the  proper  owners, 
and  as  the  means  of  discovering  the  owners  of  cattle  damage- 
feasanl.  And  as  this  feature  of  the  early  laws  and  municipal 
regulations  of  this  State  may  prove  something  of  an  antiquarian 
curiosity  to  all,  and  be  a  matter  individually  interesting  to  the 
descendants  of  those  who  adopted  it,  we  have  concluded  to  copy 
entire  the  first  record  of  the  marks  of  the  stock  owners  of  the 
town,  as  follows : 


62  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

"  MARKS." 

"  David  Wing's  mark,  a  slit  on  the  right  ear. 

"  Peaiiey  Davis'  do.,  a  slit  on  the  left  ear. 

"  Ziba  Woodworth's  do.,  a  hole  in  the  left  ear. 

"  Daniel  Woodworth's  do.,  a  square  crop  on  the  right  ear. 

"  Caleb  Bennett's  do.,  a  square  crop  on  the  left  ear. 

u  Philip  Wheelers  do.,  a  swallow-tail  on  the  right  ear. 

"  Jerahmel  Bowers  Wheeler's  do.,  a  swallow-tail  on  the  left  ear. 

"  Theophelus  W.  Brooks'  do.,  two  half-pennies  on  the  left  ear. 

"  Isaac  Putnam's  do.,  two  half-pennies  on  the  right  ear. 

u  John  Templeton's  do.,  a  square  crop  on  each  ear. 

"  Solomon  Dodge's  do.,  a  hole  in  the  right  ear. 

"  Hiram  Peck's  do.,  two  holes  in  the  right  ear. 

"  Nathaniel  Davis'  do.,  a  cross-cut  or  slit  on  the  upper  side 
of  the  left  ear. 

u  Chas.  McCloud's  do.,  two  slits  on  the  left  ear. 

u  Nath'l  Peck's  do.,  a  half-round  or  semicircle  on  the  left  ear. 

''Jonathan  Snow's  do.,  a  swallow-tail  on  the  right,  and  square 
crop  on  the  left  ear. 

u  Benj.  I.  Wheeler's  do.,  a  crop  and  hole  on  the  left  ear.  (En 
tered  against  this,)  '  This  mark  flung  up/ 

u  Eli>ha  Cummins'  do.,  a  slit  in  the  end  and  a  half-penny  in 
the  right  ear. 

u Jacob  Cummins'  do.,  a  crop  and  hole  in  the  right  ear. 

"  John  Cutler's  do.,  a  half-crop  on  the  under  side  of  the  left  ear. 

"  James  Hawkins'  do.,  a  half-crop  under  the  right  ear. 

"ZIBA  WOODWORTH,  T.  C." 

To  this  record  the  enumerations  of  the  marks  of  those  who 
neglected  to  enter  them  at  this  time,  and  of  those  who  were  con 
stantly  moving  into  town,  continued  to  be  added,  from  year  to 
year,  even  up  to  1812,  when  the  custom  appears  to  have  fallen 
into  disuse.  But  having  given  this  specimen,  it  will  hardly  be 
expected  we  should  occupy  the  space  required  to  insert  the  whole 
of  the  extended  list. 

The  freemen  of  Montpelier,  having  thus  effected  their  organi 
zation  and  successfully  put  its  machinery  in  operation,  thencefor 
ward  annually  held  their  town  March  Meetings,  resulting  in  the 
frequent  change  of  town  officers,  and  the  transaction  of  the  usual 
variety  of  town  business,  the  most  important  of  which,  as  affect 
ing  or  indicating  the  growth  and  moral  progress  of  the  town,  we 
shall  note  as  we  proceed. 

No  Freemen's  Meeting,  for  the  election  of  town  representative 
to  the  Legislature  and  State  officers,  was  held  in  1791,  or  the 
September  following  the  organization  of  the  town.  But  on  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  63 

18th  of  August,  1792,  Jerahmel  B.  Wheeler,  the  Constable  of 
Montpelier,  issued  his  warning  notifying  the  freemen  to  meet  at 
the  dwelling-house  of  Pearley  Davis,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of 
September  next,  falling  on  the  4th  day  of  said  month,  "  to  act  on 
the  following  articles,  viz  : 

"  1.  To  elect  and  depute  some  person  from  amongst  the  free 
men  to  represent  said  freemen  at  the  next  General  Assembly  of 
this  State,  to  be  held  at  Rutland  on  the  second  Thursday  of  the 
succeeding  October,  and  so  from  day  to  day  during  their  session 
or  sessions. 

"  2.     To  give  their  votes  for  Governor  the  succeeding  year. 

"  3.     To  give  their  votes  for  Lieutenant  Governor. 

"4.     To  give  their  votes  for  a  Treasurer. 

"  5.     To  give  their  votes  for  Twelve  Councilors." 

And  at  the  time  and  place  specified  in  the  warning,  the  legal 
voters  of  the  town  assembled  for  their 

FIRST  FREEMEN'S  MEETING  IN  MONTPELIER. 

Of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting,  the  following  is  a  copy  ol 
the  record  : 

;c  At  a  meeting  of  the  freemen  of  Montpelier,  Sept.  4th,  1792. 
"  Pursuant  to  the  foregoing  notification,  proceeded,  and  made 
choice  of  Colonel  Davis  to  represent  the  freemen  of  said  town  at 
the  General  Assembly  the  ensuing  year. 

"  And  received  24  votes  for  Thomas  Chittenden,  Governor. 
"  And  received  20  votes  for  Peter   Olcott,  Lieut.  Governor. 
"  And  received  12  votes  for  Samuel  Mattocks,  Treasurer. 
"  And  the  following  names  voted  for  as  Councilors,  viz : 
Samuel  Safford  20     Luke  Knowlton,  20 

Jonas  Galubha,  20     Timothy  Brownson,        20 

John  Strong,  20     Ebenezer  Marvin,  20 

Thomas  Porter,  20     Colo.  Kent,  18 

Samuel  Hitchcock,         19     Jerem'r  Bailey,  1 

Jonathan  Hunt,  20     Eleazer  Harvey,  1 

Paul  Brigham,  ^0     Ira  Allen,  1 

Jona.  Arnold,  20 

"  Recorded, 

"  CLARK  STEVENS.  T.  Clerk." 

At  this  meeting,  as  will  be  perceived,  Colonel  Jacob  Davis 
was  chosen  unanimously  as  the  first  Representative  of  Montpel 
ier.  This  was  no  more  than  was  due  to  him,  under  the  circum 
stances,  if  his  character  and  capacity  warranted  the  preferment ; 
and  that  his  townsmen  believed  they  did  is  clearly  shown  in  the 
fact  that  they  gave  him  the  next  four  successive  elections,  making 


64  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

him  the  Representative  of  the  town  he  had  shown  so  much  energy 
and  foresight  in  founding,  the  first  five  years  of  its  organized 
existence. 

The  next  public  meeting  held  in  town  was  also  of  a  political 
character,  and  the  first  one  ever  called  for  that  purpose,  which 
was,  in  the  words  of  the  warning,  for  the  freemen  to  meet  at  the 
dwelling-house  of  Pearley  Davis,  on  the  first  Monday,  the  4th  of 
January  then  next, 

"  To  give  in  their  votes  for  a  Representative  to  represent  the 
Eastern  District  of  Vermont,  comprehending  the  Counties  of 
Windham,  Windsor  and  Orange,  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States." 

And  on  said  specified  4th  day  of  January,  1793,  the  freemen 
accordingly  met  and  gave  their  votes  for  a  Member  of  Congress 
for  the  District  to  which  they  belonged,  as  follows : 

For  the  Hon.  ELIJAH  PAINE,  2  votes, 

For  the  Hon.  PAUL  BBIGHAM,  12  votes. 

This  was  the  first  vote  ever  given  in  Montpelier  for  a  Member 
of  Congress ;  and,  as  that  period  was  anterior  to  the  reign  of 
King  Caucus,  or  the  age  of  political  drummers  under  pay  of  can 
didates  for  beating  through  the  whole  of  their  districts,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  this  vote  was  given  for  men  not  generally  sup 
ported  in  other  sections.  Such  at  least  appears  to  have  been  the 
case,  since  Nathaniel  Niles  of  Thetford,  was  elected  as  the  first 
Member  of  Congress  for  the  then  Eastern  District,  and  at  this 
time  received  his  second  election. 

At  the  annual  March  Meeting  of  this  year,  1793,  the  most 
noteworthy  of  the  transactions  perhaps,  were  the  votes: 

"  To  assess  20  pence  on  the  pound  of  the  Grand  List  for 
repairing  Highways,  the  present  year. 

"  That  oxen  be  allowed  two  thirds  the  wages  allowed  to  a  man 
per  day,  in  working  said  tax,  viz:  2s  8d. 

"  That  all  town  taxes  be  received  in  wheat,  at  four  shillings 
per  bushel,  by  the  collector,  of  those  who  incline  to  pay  their 
proportion  of  such  taxes  that  way." 

At  this  meeting  also  the  freemen  made  choice,  for  their  Town 
Clerk,  of  David  Wing,  Jr.,  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise  and 
capacity  for  public  business,  who  held  the  office  continuously  to 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1806,  and  who,  thenceforward,  seems  to 
have  put  a  new  face  on  the  records,  reports,  drafts  and  all  other 
town  transactions  passing  under  his  quick  and  ready  hand. 

On  the  24th  of  June  in  the  same  year,  at  a  meeting  duly 
warned  for  the  purpose,  Col.  Jacob  Davis  was  elected  a  delegate 
to  represent  the  town  "  in  the  Convention  appointed  to  consider 
of,  establish  or  reject,  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  Council 
of  Censors  in  the 'Constitution  of  the  State  of  Vermont." 


HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER.  «)5 

A  meeting  also  was  called  and  held  on  the  3d  day  of  Septem 
ber,  the  same  day  with  the  Freemen's  Meeting  of  that  year,  "  to 
see  if  the  inhabitants  will  lease  or  dispose  of  the  public  lands  in 
said  town,  as  shall  be  most  to  the  benefit  of  the  public."  But 
the  proposition  was  decisively  rejected. 

At  the  Freemen's  Meeting,  the  same  day,  the  votes  of  the  town 
were  cast,  twenty-three  in  number,  for  the  old  candidates  for 
Governor  and  Treasurer,  and  for  Jonathan  Hunt,  the  new  and 
successful  candidate  for  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  also  for  sev 
eral  new  and  successful  candidates  for  Councilors,  among  whom 
was  Cornelius  Lynde  of  Williamstown. 

At  the  annual  March  Meeting  in  1794,  a  committee  was  ap 
pointed,  with  instructions  to  purchase  and  prepare  two  acres  of 
land  in  some  suitable  place,  to  be  established  and  consecrated  as 
a  public  Burying  Ground  in  the  town. 

Another  town  meeting  was  called  and  held  on  the  21st  of  July, 
this  year,  to  try  again  the  question  of  disposing  of  or  leasing 
the  public  lands  of  the  town  ;  when  the  motion  to  sell  said  lands 
was  once  more  negatived.  But  a  vote  was  obtained  to  lease  them 
out  for  the  highest  rent  that  could  be  procured  ;  and  David  Wing, 
Jr., Esq.,  Major  Pearley  Davis  and  Mr.  Ziba  Woodworth  were  ap 
pointed  a  committee  to  act  with  discretionary  powers  in  carrying 
the  vote  into  effect. 

Still  another  meeting  for  the  transaction  of  town  business  was 
again  called  this  year,  to  meet  at  the  same  time  and  place  at  whicli 
the  annual  Freemen's  Meeting  for  the  September  election  had 
been  warned. 

At  this  town  meeting  the  committee  appointed  to  purchase  and 
clear  a  public  Burying  Ground  made  report  that  "they  had  pur 
chased  of  Joseph  Wing  two  acres  of  land  for  said  purpose,  at 
(ifteen  shillings  per  acre,  lying  on  the  road  that  leads  from  Col. 
Davis'  to  Calais,  and  have  fell  the  timber  on  the  same."  The 
location  of  this  Burying  Ground,  as  we  have  ascertained  from 
sources  independent  of  this  singularly  indefinite  description  of 
the  committee,  was  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  roads  passing  to 
North  Montpelier  and  to  Calais,  as  they  divide  on  the  swell  be 
yond  the  brook  about  one  hundred  rods  north-east  of  the  Meeting 
House  at  Montpelier  Centre.  The  report  being  adopted,  the 
place  was  consequently  forthwith  prepared  for  use.  And  this 
was  the  first  public  Cemetery  ever  established  in  Montpelier. 

At  this  meeting,  likewise,  was  made  the  first  movement  ever 
taking  place  in  the  town  looking  to  the  establishment  of  Com 
mon  Schools.  A  committee  of  five,  consisting  of  John  Templeton , 
Rufus  Wakefield,  Thomas  McCloud  and  Ziba  Woodworth,  were 
appointed  to  divide  the  town  into  school  districts,  and  report 
their  doings  to  the  adjourned  meeting.  9 


66  HISTORY  OP  MONTPELIEK. 

The  first  case  of  pauperism  that  ever  occurred  in  town  was 
also  disclosed  at  this  meeting.  It  appears  that  one  John  Marsh, 
a  resident  of  the  town,  had  become  unable  to  support  himself  by 
reason  of  lameness,  caused  by  the  fall  of  a  tree,  and  want  of 
means  ;  and  that  the  Selectmen  had  employed  medical  attend 
ance  and  provided  for  his  support.  The  meeting  voted  their 
approval  of  the  course  of  their  Selectmen,  and  appointed  a  com 
mittee  to  audit  the  several  accounts  growing  out  of  the  case. 

We  further  find  among  the  new  and  note-worthy  proceedings 
of  this  important  meeting,  a  vote 

"  That  this  town  will  ensure  to  the  Minute  Men,  now  enlisted 
from  this  town,  the  wages,  while  in  actual  service,  that  the  Gov 
ernor  and  Council  of  this  State  have  promised  to  recommend  the 
Legislature  to  ensure  them  :  provided  that  Congress  nor  said 
Legislature  do  not  do  it." 

Why  Minute  Men  should  have  been  ordered  to  be  enlisted  and 
held  in  readiness  for  some  emergency,  at  this  period  when  we 
were  threatened  with  no  foreign  wars,  and  when  there  was  no 
longer  any  fear  of  Indian  aggressions  in  this  section  of  the  coun 
try,  we  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  The  order,  however, 
may  have  grown  out  of  the  alarm  occasioned  by  the  somewhat 
formidable  "  Whiskey  Insurrection"  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
summer  of  this  year,  to  quell  which  the  militia  of  Maryland  were 
ordered  into  actual  service,  while  the  other  States  might  have 
been  requested  to  be  on  their  guard. 

At  the  adjourned  meeting  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  Decem 
ber  of  this  year,  the  committee  appointed  to  divide  the  town  into 
School  Districts  made  their  report,  which  was  adopted  ;  whereby 
the  town  was  divided  into  six  districts,  designated  as  follows : 

"  First  District — Beginning  at  the  south- westerly  corner  of 
the  town,  (Middlesex  line  on  the  river,)  including  the  inhabi 
tants  from  thence  to  Jacob  Davis,  Jr.'s,  likewise  all  on  the 
North  Branch  as  far  as  Mr.  Wiggins',  and  on  the  south  road 
(the  road  now  leading  by  Henry  Nutt's)  to  James  Hawkins/ 

"  Second  District — On  the  south  road,  to  contain  all  the  in 
habitants  from  Jonathan  Cutler's  to  Caleb  Bennett's,  including 
Mr.  Edwards,  Mr.  Doty,  Elisha  and  John  Cummins. 

"  Third  District,  or  East  Hill  District— To  include  all  the  in 
habitants  in  said  town  east  of  Onion  River. 

"  Fourth  District,  or  Centre  District — To  include  all  the  in 
habitants  from  Rufus  Wakefield's  to  Elnathan  Pope's,  including 
David  Wing,  Esq.,  John  Stevens,  Capt.  Doty,  Barnabas  Doty, 
Jr.,  Lemuel  Brooks,  Levi  Humphrey,  John  Cutler  and  Mr. 
Woods." 

"  Fifth  Distriet^To  include  all  the  inhabitants  from  the  afore- 


HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER.  67 

mentioned  bounds  to  Joshua  Peck's,  and  as  far  east  as  the  Greaf 
Brook  known  by  the  name  of  Putnam's  Brook,  excepting  Ensign 
Gilbert,  taking  in  Robert  Waugh  and  Francis  West  east  of  said 
Brook. 

fc<  SLrt/i  District,  or  Eastern  District — To  include  all  the  in 
habitants  east  of  the  aforesaid  brook,  except  Mr.  Waugh  aid 
Mr.  West,  taking  in  Ensign  Gilbert  on  the  west  side  of  said 
brook." 

And  Jacob  Davis,  Clark  Stevens,  Nathaniel  Clarke,  Pearley 
Davis,  Thomas  West  and  Enoch  Cate  were  thereupon,  on  the 
nomination  of  the  voters  of  their  respective  districts,  appointed 
Committees  of  the  same,  uto  be,  with  the  Selectmen,  Trustees  of 
Schools  in  said  town." 

At  this  meeting,  also,  was  presented  and  adopted  the  report 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  audit  the  several  accounts  grow 
ing  out  of  the  medical  attendance  and  support  of  John  Marsh, 
who,  it  had  been  ascertained  by  David  Wing,  Jr.,  the  agent  ap 
pointed  for  the  purpose,  had  his  legal  residence  in  Haverhill,  N. 
FL,  and  who  was  then  ordered  to  be  removed  to  that  town. 

Among  the  accounts  was  one  on  which  it  may  be  interesting 
to  many  to  bestow  a  passing  notice.  It  was  the  account  of  Re 
becca  Peabody,  of  seventeen  pounds  five  shillings,  for  her  medical 
services  in  the  case,  which  account  was  cut  down  by  the  commit 
tee  to  nine  pounds  fourteen  shillings,  but  finally  raised  to  fifteen 
pounds  and  accepted.  Miss  Peabody  was  a  daughter  of  Col. 
Stephen  Peabody  of  New  Hampshire,  a  Revolutionary  officer, 
and  a  sister  of  Dr.  Peabody,  with  whom  she  had  studied  and 
practiced,  in  cases  of  surgery  principally,  in  Johnson,  on  the 
Lamoille  River,  in  this  State.  She  was  from  the  intellectual  and 
well  known  family  of  the  New  Hampshire  Peabodys,  many  oi 
whom  had  then  won,  and  have  since  won,  in  one  calling  or  anoth 
er,  much  distinction  for  talents  and  enterprise.  Her  father 
was  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  active  of  all  the  field  officers  in 
Gen.  Stark's  command  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington,  and  was 
wounded  by  a  bullet  in  the  leg  as  he  stood  on  a  stump,  giving 
orders  to  the  troops  in  the  heat  of  the  Battle.  Soon  after  com 
ing  to  Montpelier  to  attend  on  the  poor  invalid,  Marsh,  she  mar 
ried  General  Pearley  Davis,  and,  besides  retaining  through  life  a 
notoriety  for  surgical  skill  which  continually  brought  her  the 
visits  of  the  unfortunate  from  every  part  of  the  State,  she  be 
came  truly  one  of  the  mothers  of  the  town,  not  only  diffusing 
blessings  among  the  sick  and  afflicted,  but  acting  well  her  part 
in  social  life,  and  at  length  leaving  the  numerous  offspring,  she 
had  so  well  reared,  to  look  back,  as  they  justly  may,  with  respect 
and  pride  on  her  memory. 


68  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

At  the  Freemen's  Meeting  of  the  September  of  this  year,  the 
highest  vote  cast  for  State  officers  was  thirty-seven,  showing  the 
number  of  freemen  in  attendance  at  this  meeting  to  have  been 
thirteen  more  than  that  of  those  who  voted  at  the  election  of  the 
proceeding  year,  and  affording  the  best  of  evidence  of  the  rapid 
progress  the  town  was  making  in  its  growth  and  prosperity. 

Among  the  municipal  transactions  of  the  next  year  (1795)  we 
find  several  items  which  will  probably  be  deemed  note-worthy 
by  the  reader. 

At  the  annual  March  Meeting  it  was  unanimously  voted,  in 
acting  on  the  article  inserted  in  the  warning  for  the  purpose, 
"  that  all  the  town  officers  serve  the  town  without  fee  or  reward 
the  year  ensuing/'  And  that  the  town  officers  of  that  year  may 
have  full  credit  for  their  patriotism,  though  sadly  destined,  it 
would  seem,  to  perish  with  the  year  that  brought  it  into  existence, 
we  subjoin  the  whole  list : 

Town  Clerk— David  Wing,  Jr.?  Esq. 

Selectmen — Jacob  Davis,  Esq.,  Capt.  Barnabas  Doty,  Mr.  Jo 
seph  Woodworth,  Lieut.  Andrew  Nealey  and  Capt.  Isaac  Putnam. 

Constable  and  Collector  of  Ta.res — James  Hawkins. 

Listers — David  Wing,  Jr.,  Esq.,  Lieut.  Andrew  Nealey, 
Messrs.  Ziba  Woodworth,  Joseph  Woodworth  and  Joseph  Wing, 

G-rand  Juryman — Irani  Nye. 

Leather  Sealer — Ziba  Woodworth. 

Pound  Keeper — Maj.  Pearley  Davis. 

Tithing  Man — Joshua  Wiggins. 

Hay  wards — Maj.  Pearley  Davis,  John  Cutler,  Daniel  Wood- 
worth,  Lemuel  McKnight,  Benjamin  Nash  and  Mark  Nelson. 

Fence  Viewers — James  Hawkins,  Truman  West  and  Joseph 
Woodworth. 

Surveyors  of  Highways — Thomas  Davis,  Jona.  Cutler,  Heze- 
kiali  Davis,  Caleb  Bennett,  Lemuel  Brooks,  John  Templeton  and 
Andrew  Nealey. 

Dealer  of  Weights  and  Measures — Capt.  Barnabas  Doty. 

Auditor  to  Settle  Accounts  with  the  Treasurer — David  Wing,  Jr. 

In  the  warning  of  this  meeting,  also,  we  find  the  evidence  of 
the  first  movement  made  in  town  for  public  provision  for  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Among  the  articles  inserted  in  that 
warning  for  the  action  of  the  meeting  we  find  the  following,  the 
last  one  in  the  list  proposing  any  new  action  : 

"  8th.  To  see  if  the  town  will  take  any  measures  as  a  town  for 
the  purpose  of  having  preaching  in  said  town  the  ensuing  year." 

This  was  the  first  movement  of  the  kind  ever  made  in  town , 
though  the  article  does  not  appear  to  have  been  acted  on  at  all 
in  the  meeting  of  that  year,  nor  does  the  subject  appear  to  have 
been  again  agitated  until  nearly  five  years  afterwards. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPEL1ER.  69 

Two  special  Town  Meetings  were  called  in  the  fall  of  this  year  ; 
one  on  the  annual  Freemen's  Meeting,  September  1st,  to  act  on 
the  question  of  petitioning  the  Legislature  to  be  annexed  to  the 
County  of  Chittenden,  and  on  the  acceptance  of  the  report  of 
the  committee  for  leasing  the  public  lands  ;  and  the  other  meet 
ing  on  the  5th  of  October,  to  take  measures  to  fix  on  a  spot  for 
the  location  of  the  public  buildings  of  the  town. 

At  the  first  of  these  meetings  it  was  voted  unanimously  "  that 
our  Representative,  in  our  behalf,  petition  the  Legislature,  at  the 
next  session  thereof,  that  Montpelier  be  annexed  to  the  County 
of  Chittenden."  And  the  committee  for  leasing  the  public  lands 
reported  in  part  that  having  given  public  notice  for  bids,  &e., 
they  had  leased 

Lot  No.  46,  1st  Div.  for  Support  of  the  Gospel,  to  John 
Holmes,  for  2s  Id  per  acre  ; 

Lot  No.  67,  1st  Div.  of  Town  School  Right,  to  James  Haw 
kins,  for  Is  6d  per  acre; 

Lot  No.  28,  2nd  Div.  of  Town  School  Right,  to  Justus  Lum- 
bard,  for  Is  5d  per  acre  ; 

Lot  No.  62,  2nd  Div.  for  Support  of  the  Gospel,  to  Hiram 
Peck,  for  Is  lid  per  acre  ; 

Lot  No.  41,  2nd  Div.  for  Minister  Settlement,  to  Nathaniel 
Peck,  for  Is  5d  per  acre. 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  accepted,  the  leases  estab 
lished,  and  the  committee  continued  in  power. 

At  the  October  meeting  there  was  appointed  a  committee  for 
the  purpse  of  locating  the  contemplated  public  buildings,  consist 
ing  of  David  Wing,  Jr.  Pearley  Davis,  Jacob  Davis,  Isaac  Put 
nam  and  Nathaniel  Peck,  who  reported  in  one  hour,  indicating 
two  spots  "  from  which  the  town  were  to  choose  one  for  a  Cen 
tre,"  and  recommended  that  the  decision  be  deferred  to  the  next 
annual  March  Meeting,  which  was  accordingly  done. 

At  the  annual  March  Meeting  in  1796,  the  town,  in  acting  on 
the  subject  of  the  two  locations  reported  by  the  committee  the 
previous  fall,  decided  by  vote  "  that  the  Centre  of  the  town,  or 
place  for  building  public  town  buildings,  be  on  Major  (Pearley  ) 
Davis'  land,  not  far  from  his  barn,  he  turning  out  four  acres  of 
land  for  a  common,  at  such  place  as  a  committee  from  said  town 
shall  see  fit,  two  acres  of  which  he  to  obligate  himself  to  turn 
out  gratis — the  other  two  acres  to  be  exchanged  for  two  acres 
from  the  westerly  part  of  Lot  No.  40,  now  owned  by  Colonel 
Davis,  which  he  offers  to  present  to  the  town  for  said  purpose, 
the  town  to  clear  off  for  Major  Davis  said  two  acres,  likewise  to 
clear  two  acres  in  lieu  of  the  two  acres  given  by  him."  And 
Colo.  Jacob  Davis,  David  Wing,  Jr.,  Capt.  Elnathan  Pope, 


70  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

Nathl.  Feck  and  Capt.  Barnabas  Doty  wore  appointed  a  commit 
tee  "  to  stick  the  stake  where  the  public  buildings  shall  be  erect 
ed,  to  fix  bounds  for  a  common,  and  to  take  deeds  and  give 
obligations  according  to  the  tenor  and  effect  of  the  before  men 
tioned  vote  of  said  town." 

This  contemplated  Town  House,  however,  was  never  built ; 
for,  after  agitating  the  subject  from  time  to  time,  for  the  next 
thirty  years,  without  definitely  settling  on  the  manner  of  defray 
ing  the  expense  of  erecting  the  building,  the  town  finally,  iu 
1828,  made  arrangements  with  the  proprietors  of  the  Methodist 
Meeting  House,  which  had  been  built  in  the  meantime  on  or  near 
the  spot  designed  for  the  Town  House,  for  holding  therein,  for  u 
stipulated  annual  payment,  all  town  meetings  thereafter. 

At  a  special  Town  Meeting,  held  in  the  September  and  ad 
journed  to  the  October  of  this  year,  all  the  six  School  Districts 
of  the  town  were  thoroughly  remodeled,  and  their  territorial 
limits  clearly  defined  by  designating  the  number  of  the  Lots  and 
the  Divisions  of  land  of  which  each  District  was  thereafter  to 
be  composed. 

Another  special  meeting  was  held  in  the  December  of  this 
year  to  nominate  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  receive  the  report 
of  the  committee  to  lay  out  the  Common,  &c.  At  this  meeting 
the  town  nominated  Joseph  Wing  for  Justice  of  Peace,  and  in 
structed  their  Representative  to  procure  his  election. 

In  the  transactions  of  the  annual  March  Meeting  of  1797  we 
observe  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  routine  of  town  business. 
At  the  Freemen's  Meeting  of  this  year,  however,  a  change  was 
made  of  town  Representative,  and  David  Wing,  Jr.,  was  duly 
elected  ;  while  at  the  same  meeting  he  had  the  additional  honor 
of  receiving  from  his  townsmen  their  full  vote  for  State  Treas 
urer.  Mr.  Wing  was  the  second  Representative  of  Montpelier, 
and  received  four  elections,  but  not  quite  in  the  four  successive 
years,  his  first  election  being  in  1797,  his  second  in  1798,  his 
third  in  1800,  and  his  fourth  in  1802  ;  while  Pearley  Davis,  the 
third  Representative  of  the  town,  was  elected  in  the  intermedi 
ate  years  of  1799  and  1801. 

The  years  1796  and  1797  were  marked  in  the  history  of  Mont 
pelier  by  the  action  of  the  Legislature  by  which  the  town  was 
made  a  component  of  the  new  County  of  Caledonia.  That 
County  was  incorporated  in  November,  1792  ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  all  the  towns  composing  it  were  definitely  decided 
on,  nor  that  the  County  was  fully  organized,  till  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1796  and  1797,  when  Montpelier  was  included  within 
its  boundaries,  and  one  of  her  citizens,  David  Wing,  Jr.,  was 
elected  one  of  the  Judges  of  its  County  Court — which  office  he 


HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER.  71 

appears  to  have  held  uninterruptedly  through  the  remaining  nine 
years  of  his  life,  notwithstanding  his  promotion  to  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State  in  1803,  and  his  continuance  therein  for  the 
last  three  years  of  that  period.  Though  the  town  had  previously 
petitioned  to  be  set  off  to  Chittenden  County,  this  change  ap 
pears  to  have  been  readily  acquiesced  in,  the  honor  of  having  a 
Judge  in  so  new  a  town  possibly  having  something  to  do  with  the 
acquiescence  at  that  time. 

Nothing  very  noticeable  appears  among  the  proceedings  of  any 
of  the  Town  Meetings  of  1798,  except  the  increased  vote  thrown 
for  State  Officers,  which,  at  the  Freemen's  Meeting  of  this  year, 
was  for  Tichenor,  the  Governor  then  elected,  47  votes.  The 
town  accounts  were  this  year,  for  the  first  time,  reckoned  in  dol 
lars  and  cents,  instead  of  pounds,  &c. 

In  the  year  1799,  the  School  Districts  were  again  remodeled  at 
the  March  Meeting.  And  at  the  Freemen's  Meeting  the  vote  for 
Governor  had  increased  to  67. 

At  a  Town  Meeting,  called  for  the  purpose,  and  held  January 
16th,  1800,  the  subject  of  providing  for  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel,  after  having  been  left  undisturbed  since  the  spring  of 
1795,  was  again  agitated  ;  and  this  time,  it  would  appear,  with 
an  earnest  purpose,  since  at  this  meeting  it  was 

"  Voted  to  choose  a  committee  of  three  ;  and  chose  Arthur 
Daggett,  Pearley  Davis  and  Jerahmel  B.  Wheeler,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  employing  a  teacher  of  religion  and  morality.  And  also 

"  Voted  that  the  town  will  indemnify  the  committee  for  sucli 
expense  as  they  shall  be  at  in  procuring  a  preacher  to  preach  in 
Montpelier." 

And  at  the  annual  March  Meeting,  held  a  few  weeks  after, 
provision  was  made  for  the  distribution  of  the  rents  of  the  Gos 
pel  lands,  and  carrying  into  effect  the  vote  above  mentioned,  in 
the  following  manner : 

"  Voted  That  the  money  now  received,  or  which  may  be  re 
ceived,  as  rent  for  land  leased,  belonging  to  the  Right  granted 
by  charter  for  the  Social  Worship  of  God,  be  divided  among  the 
different  Sects  or  Persuasions  of  people  in  Montpelier,  according 
to  the  number  of  male  polls  over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  in 
each  society  ;  and  that  the  said  money  be  appropriated  for  the 
uses  intended  by  charter.  And, 

"  Voted,  That  the  said  money,  arising  as  aforesaid,  should  be 
paid  over  to  the  committee  appointed  the  16th  of  January  last, 
to  procure  a  preacher  in  Montpelier.  And  that  all  persons  not 
wishing  to  have  their  share  ot  said  money  laid  out  as  aforesaid, 
but  dissenting  in  sentiment  from  the  majority  in  said  town,  by 
leaving  their  names  and  sentiment  with  the  Town  Clerk,  by  the 


72  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

first  day  of  May  next,  will  be  entitled  to  their  proportion  of 
said  monies,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  such  persons 
as  the  different  Secretaries  may  appoint.  And  all  persons  not 
leaving  their  names  as  aforesaid  will  be  considered  of  the  senti 
ment  of  the  majority,  and  their  proportion  of  said  money  laid 
out  accordingly." 

A  vote  forbidding  hogs  to  run  at  large  between  the  1st  of 
April  and  the  loth  of  November,  was,  for  the  first  time,  passed 
at  the  March  Meeting  of  this  year.  At  this  meeting,  also,  Joseph 
Wing  and  Jerahmel  B.  Wheeler  were  nominated  as  Justices  of 
the  Peace,  Wing  having  been  the  first  and  Wheeler  the  second 
Justice  of  the  peace  ever  receiving  appointment  to  that  office  on 
the  formal  nomination  of  the  town,  though  it  is  very  evident  that 
Colonel  Jacob  Davis  had  been  appointed  one  before  or  in  the 
year  the  town  was  organized,  and  David  Wing,  Jr.,  soon 
after. 

Two  new  Burial  Grounds  were,  in  the  year  1801,  by  vote  of 
the  town,  purchased,  prepared  and  opened  for  use, — one  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Theophilus  Clark,  in  the  east  part  of  the  town  ; 
and  the  other  on  the  Davis  Pitch,  on  the  swell  twenty  or  thirty 
rods  west  of  the  falls  of  the  North  Branch,  within  the  present 
bounds  of  Montpelier  village.  The  latter  was  used  as  the  Vil 
lage  Burying  Ground  till  1813,  when  the  new  one  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Branch,  a  short  distance  below  the  falls,  was  opened  and 
kept  in  use  for  the  next  forty  years. 

In  1802  an  arrangement  was  established  with  the  towns  of 
Barre  and  Berlin  for  building  a  new  bridge  across  the  Winooski, 
between  the  Jacob  Davis,  Jr.,  farm  and  the  Goodnow  farm,  on 
the  road  to  Barre, — the  subject  of  proportioning  the  expense 
having  been  submitted  to  Jona.  Fisk,  Cornelius  Lynde  and  Setli 
Putnam,  a  committee  from  disinterested  towns,  who  made  the 
report  (which  was  accepted  by  all  concerned)  that  "the  ex 
pense  be  divided  into  nine  parts  :  that  the  town  of  Barre  pay 
four  parts,  Montpelier  three,  arid  Berlin  two.  A  similar  arrange 
ment  appears  to  have  been  entered  into  with  the  town  of  Berlin 
for  building  and  maintaining  the  bridge  across  the  river  where 
the  old  Arch  Bridge  now  stands,  at  Montpelier  village,  at  an 
early  day — probably  before  the  organization  of  the  town.  And 
these  arrangements  and  proportionate  responsibilities  have,  we 
believe,  been  maintained  to  the  present  day. 

A  new  and  methodical  form  for  making  the  General  List  was 
this  year,  for  the  first  time,  drafted  by  David  Wing,  Jr.,  presented 
at  one  of  the  town  meetings,  and  adopted. 

At  the  March  Meeting  in  1803,  David  Wing,  Jr.,  inconse 
quence  of  a  movement  started  probably  by  himself  and  Colonel 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  73 

Davis  for  the  purpose,  was  appointed  the  agent  of  the  town  to 
procure  from  the  Legislature  an  act  authorizing  the  Governor 
and  Council  to  issue  a  new  and  corrected  Charter  of  the  Town 
ship  of  Montpelier. 

At  the  Freemen's  Meeting  of  this  year  Joseph  Woodworth  was 
chosen  Representative,  being  the  fourth  individual  chosen  to  that 
office  in  town.  And  the  highest  vote  thrown  for  State  officers 
was  71. 

At  the  March  Meeting  of  1804,  Pearley  Davis,  lor  committee 
appointed  to  act  as  agents,  in  conjunction  with  those  of  Barre 
and  Berlin,  to  provide  for  building  a  new  bridge  across  the  river 
at  the  Jacob  Davis,  Jr.,  farm,  on  Ihe  road  to  Barre,  reported 
that  they  had  contracted  with  Joseph  Palmer  to  build  said  bridge 
and  warrant  it  to  stand  two  years,  for  the  sum  of  $270,50 — the 
part  of  which  devolving  on  Montpelier  to  pay  being  $90,83, 
which,  the  work  being  completed,  they  had  settled  by  a  town 
note.  This  report  was  accepted. 

David  Wing,  Jr.,  who  was  appointed  to  procure  the  new  Char 
ter,  also  made  his  report,  (which  was  accepted,)  as  follows : 

"  That  he  had  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  have  the  titles  to 
lands  in  said  town  secure,  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  relief — 
who  had  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  Governor  to  issue  a  new 
Charter  of  said  town,  which  Charter  he  had  procured  and  re 
corded." 

Having  thus  somewhat  minutely  given  the  municipal  history  of 
Montpelier  during  the  first  twelve  years  of  its  existence  as  an  or- 
gani/.ed  town,  noted  all  that  was  new  and  peculiar  in  its  public 
proceedings,  and  shown  the  action  on  which  most  of  the  town  insti- 
tions  of  the  present  time  were  reared,  we  will  now  bring  this  long, 
to  many  perhaps  dry,  but  necessary  chapter  to  a  close,  to  resume 
the  specific  subject,  from  time  to  time,  as  far  as  need  be,  in  con 
nection  with  other  events,  and  in  a  form  which  to  the  general 
reader  will  probably  be  more  interesting. 


10 


74  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


CHAPTER  V[. 

CLEARING    OF   THE  FOREST   LANDS. PERSEVERING  INDUSTRY  OF  THE 

SETTLERS,  THEIR  ECONOMY,  THRIFT,  INDEPENDENCE   AND    GENERAL 
CHARACTER. 

WE  have  elsewhere  said,  and  here  substantially  repeat,  that 
few  of  the  dwellers  of  populous  towns,  few  indeed  of  the  tillers 
only  of  the  subdued  and  time-mellowed  soils  of  the  old  States, 
have  any  adequate  conception  of  the  immense  amount  of  hard 
labor  required  to  clear  off  the  primitive  forest  and  prepare  the 
land  for  the  first  crop  ;  and  fewer  of  them  still  any  just  appreci 
ation  of  the  degree  of  resolution,  energy  and  endurance  neces 
sary  to  ensure  continued  perseverance  in  first  clearing  off,  arid 
then  by  second  and  third  clearings  in  fully  subduing  one  piece 
after  another,  until  a  farm  of  respectable  size  is  at  length  thus 
redeemed  from  the  wilderness.  So  herculean,  indeed,  is  the  task 
of  clearing  up  a  new  farm  that  the  best  part  of  a  man's  life,  and 
all  the  strength  of  his  manhood  are  generally  exhausted  in  that 
truly  great  achievement.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  so  few 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  a  new  country  ever  become  the  perma 
nent  residents  and  owners  of  the  lands  they  first  purchased  and 
began  to  clear ;  that  so  many  have  grown  faint  while  their  reso 
lutely  self-imposed  tasks  were  yet  only  half,  or  less  than  half 
accomplished,  and  left  to  the  fresh  hands  of  a  later  immigration 
the  work  of  carrying  out  their  designs,  and  finally  enjoying  the 
ripened  fruits  of  their  labors.  In  riot  half  the  towns  in  this 
State,  probably,  have  a  majority  of  the  first  settlers  of  a  town 
become  its  permanent  residents  ;  while  a  far  less  proportion  have 
succeeded  in  retaining  for  themselves  and  their  descendants  the 
farms  which  they  first  began  to  improve. 

But  to  such  a  state  of  things  no  town  in  the  State  has  presented 
in  her  example  a  more  notable  exception  than  the  town  of  Mont- 
pelier.  Among  the  whole  list  of  the  twenty-seven  freemen  who 
joined  in  its  organization  we  find  but  one  or  two  who  did  not  be 
come  not  only  the  permanent  residents  of  the  town,  but  the  per 
manent  owners  of  the  farms  they  first  purchased  and  improved 
for  their  homes.  And  in  looking,  now,  over  that  ever  to  be  hon 
ored  roll  of  men,  then  all  farmers,  consisting  of  the  Wheelers, 
the  Davises,  the  Templetons,  the  Putnams,  the  Stevenses,  the 
Cumminses,  <fcc.,  and  then  glancing  over  the  town,  we  can  scarcely 
find  one  of  the  original  homesteads  of  all  those  thus  settling 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  75 

which  is  not  still  in  the  possession  of  some  one  of  their  descen 
dants.  This  fact  alone  speaks  volumes  in  praise  of  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  town.  It  speaks  in  such  praise,  because  it 
presupposes  and  proves  the  existence,  in  them,  of  that  invaluable 
combination  of  traits  of  character  which  can  alone  ensure  full 
success  in  building  up  an  abidingly  thrifty  town,  and  a  well  or 
dered  and  respectable  community — the  resolution  and  physical 
endurance  necessary  for  subduing  the  forests,  the  frugality  and 
economy  in  living  required  for  retaining  and  increasing  the 
amount  of  their  hard  earnings,  and  the  foresight  and  general  ca 
pacity  for  bu>iness  indispensable  for  the  successful  management 
of  their  acqui>itions. 

That  the  first  inhabitants  of  Montpelier  were  generally  men  of 
great  physical  powers,  resolution  and  stability  of  purpose,  and 
that  they  applied  their  energies  of  body  and  mind  to  the  best  ef 
fect,  in  clearing  up  and  improving  their  towns-hip,  may  be  well 
enough  seen  in  the  pictures  we  have  already  drawn  of  the  fii>t 
years  of  the  settlement,  but  more  certainly  j*o  in  the  noble  results 
of  their  exertions,  which,  after  a  period  of  twenty  years,  stood 
developed  in  their  individual  thrift,  in  their  aggregate  wealth 
and  pecuniary  independence. 

But  those  results  were  not  brought  about  by  hard  labor  alone. 
Strict  frugality  in  living  lent  its  scarcely  less  important  aid  in 
the  work.  Nature  has  but  few  wants ;  and  these  settlers  and 
their  families  seem  to  have  been  well  content  to  put  up  with  her 
real  requirements.  The  ambition  for  display  in  dress,  equippage 
and  costly  buildings  was  a  forbidden,  and  an  almost  unknown 
pas*ion  among  them.  And  all  expectations  of  making  properiy 
without  work,  or  of  living  on  credit,  were  ideas  which  were  still 
more  scouted.  They  dressed  comfortably  but  very  plainly,  wear 
ing,  for  the  twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  the  settlement  at  least, 
scarcely  anything  but  what  was  the  product  of  their  own  looms 
and  spinning  wheels.  With  these  implements,  so  necessary  for 
the  times,  nearly  every  household  was  supplied.  The  girls  spun, 
and  the  mothers  wove,  from  their  own  wool,  the  flannels  to  be 
dressed  or  pressed  for  their  best  winter  wear,  and  from  their 
own  flax  the  neat  linen  checks  for  their  gowns  and  aprons  for 
summer.  Then  the  females  of  that  day  made  their  health,  their 
hu>bands'  or  fathers'  wealth,  and  established  enduring  habits  of 
industry  for  themselves,  as  they  were  passing  along  in  their  daily 
routine  of  household  employments.  And  who  does  not  see  how 
much  better  it  would  in  reality  be  for  the  health,  constitutions 
and  habits  of  the  females  of  the  present  day,  if  they  were  com 
pelled  to  resort  to  the  same  way  of  clothing  themselves  and  their 
families.  In  an  inteiview  we  had  the  pleasure  of  having,  in 


76  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

1848,  with  the  justly  celebrated  Lydia  H.  Sigourney,  she,  in 
commenting  on  the  habits  of  American  females  as  effecting  their 
healths  and  constitutions,  very  seriously  remarked  that,  among 
all  the  changes  and  revolutions  in  domestic  habits  and  customs 
in  modern  times,  she  thought,  so  far  as  the  welfare  of  her  own 
sex  was  concerned,  no  one  was  to  be  more  regretted  than  that 
which  led  to  the  disuse  of  the  old-fashioned  family  spinning 
wheel,  which,  in  drawing  out  and  running  up  the  thread,  requir 
ing  a  constant  march  backward  and  forward,  while  the  arms  were 
alternately  lifted  in  the  operation  and  that  of  turning  the  wheel, 
brought  all  the  muscles  into  play,  and  made  just  the  exercise 
necessary  for  the  best  development  of  the  human  system.  We 
believe  there  is  much  force  in  that  gifted  lady's  remark.  And 
though  we  could  hardly  wish  for  a  counter  revolution  to  place  us 
back  to  the  olden  times  for  that  one  object,  yet  we  would  earn 
estly  insist  that  our  females,  in  dispensing  with  their  spinning 
wheels,  should  adopt  some  adequate  substitute,  such  as  active 
kitchen  work  within  doors,  and  gardening,  walking,  riding  and 
such  like  exercise,  without.  Patriotism  among  the  men  is  ac 
counted  a  virture  and  a  glory  ;  but  is  its  exercise  all  to  be  con- 
lined  to  the  rougher  sex  ?  Will  not  the  gentler  sex  be  ambitious 
to  appropriate  some  of  that  virtue  and  glory  to  themselves  ?  And 
wherein  can  they  better  exercise  it  than  in  contracting  habits 
which  will  ensure  them  vigorous  health  and  good  constitutions  '.' 
For  do  they  not  know  that  the  physical  constitutions  of  succeed 
ing  generations  will  greatly,  if  not  mainly,  depend  on  the  consti 
tutions  they  are  now  making  for  themselves  V  And  if  they  do 
not  appreciate  the  force  of  this  remark,  and  want  a  more  tangi 
ble  proof  of  its  correctness,  let  them  look  upon  the  large  and 
brawny  forms  of  the  old  first  settlers,  and  then  upon  the 
diminished  sizes  of  the  succeeding  or  second  generation,  and 
then  follow  the  comparison  among  the  still  more  dwarfed  forms 
of  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth  generations.  Why,  in  point  of 
size,  we  have  dwindled  to  a  nation  of  Frenchmen  already ;  and 
at  the  present  rate  of  diminution,  a  pass  will  in  a  few  generations 
be  reached  when  Guliver's  fable  of  the  Liliputians  will  be  real 
ized  in  our  own  descendants. 

But  to  return  to  the  subject  on  hand.  Foreign  manufactured 
goods  were  scarcely  used  at  all  for  clothing  during  the  first  dozen 
years  of  the  settlement.  The  wives  who  came  into  town  with 
their  husbands  might  have  brought  with  them,  perhaps,  their 
calico  gowns;  and  it  was  known  that  "Mann  Davis,"  as  that 
pattern  of  housewives,  the  help-meet  of  Colonel  Davis,  was 
called,  had  brought  with  her  a  silk  gown — the  one,  it  is  believed, 
in  which  she  was  married  ;  but  it  is  not  known  that  there  were 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  I  < 

any  others.  The  first  silk  dress  that  was  ever  purchased  arid 
brought  into  Montpelier  for  one  of  its  lady  residents  was  one 
obtained  for  the  wife  of  Judge  David  Wing,  and  was  first  worn 
by  her  at  a  meeting  late  in  1803. 

"  I  well  remember  when  that  first  silk  gown  made  its  appear 
ance,"  recently  said  an  aged  lady  cotemporary  of  the  favored 
possessor  of  the  rare  garment,  to  us  while  making  enquiries  about 
such  matters.  "  It  was  at  a  meeting  held  in  one  of  Colonel  Da 
vis'  new  barns.  Hannah,  that  is  Mrs.  Wing,  came  in  with  it  on, 
and  made  quite  a  sensation  among  us,  but  being  so  good  a  woman, 
and  putting  on  no  airs  about  it,  we  did  not  go  to  envying  her. 
We  thought  it  extravagant,  to  be  sure  ;  but  as  her  husband  had 
just  been  elected  Secretary  of  State,  and  might  wish  to  take  her 
abroad  with  him,  we  concluded  at  length  that  the  purchase  might 
be  perhaps,  after  all,  quite  a  pardonable  act." 

Ribbons  and  laces  were  not  worn  nor  possessed  by  the  women  : 
and  the  wearing  of  bonnets,  which  are  thought  to  require  trim 
mings  made  of  such  materials,  was  scarcely  more  frequent.  In 
stead  of  bonnets,  they  generally  wore,  for  head  dress  when  going 
abroad,  the  more  substantial,  but  no  less  neat  and  tasteful,  small 
fur  hats  which  were  then  already  being  manufactured  in  several 
of  the  older  towns  in  the  State.  And  it  \vas  not  till  a  merchant 
had  established  himself  in  town  that  any  innovation  was  made  in 
these  simple  kinds  of  female  attire.  Then,  for  the  first  time, 
calico  gowns  became  common — the  best  qualities  of  which  cost 
seventy-five  cents  per  yard,  but  of  so  strong  and  substantial  a 
fabric  that  one  of  them  would  outwear  two,  or  even  three  of 
most  of  those  of  the  present  day. 

The  men  dressed  as  plain  or  plainer.  Tow  cloth  for  summer, 
and  striped  undressed  woolens  for  winter,  were  the  standing 
materials  of  their  ordinary  apparel.  For  public  occasions,  how 
ever,  most  of  them  managed  to  obtain  one  dress  each  made  of 
homespun,  woolen,  colored  and  dressed  cloth,  which,  as  they  used 
them,  were  generally  good  for  their  life  times.  The  first  "  go-to- 
Meeting"  dresses  of  the  boys  were  also,  of  course,  domestic 
manufacture,  and  generally  of  fustian.  A  new  fustian  coat  was 
a  great  thin<r  in  the  eyes  of  a  boy  of  fourteen  in  those  days. 

But  as  their  days  of  gallantry  approached,  their  ambition 
sometimes  soared  to  a  new  India  cotton  shirt,  which  then  cost 
sixty-two  cents  per  yard,  though  now  not  a  fourth  of  that  amount. 
The  men  wore  fur  caps  or  felt  hats  for  every  day  use,  but  some 
of  them  fur  hats  on  public  occasions  ;  and  a  few  of  the  wealthier 
class,  especially  if  they  became  what  was  called  public  charac 
ters,  bought  themselves  beaver  hats,  which  stood  in  about  the 
same  relation  among  the  outfits  of  the  men  as  did  silk  gowns 


78  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEE. 

among  those  of  the  women,  such  hats  at  that  time  costing  thirty 
dollars  each.  But  this  was  not  so  very  bad  economy  as  might 
be  supposed,  after  all,  since  one  of  the  clear  beaver  hats  of  that 
day  would  not  only  wear  through  the  life-time  of  the  owner,  but 
the  life-time  of  such  of  his  sons  as  had  the  luck  to  inherit  it. 

The  ordinary  articles  of  family  food  were  corn  and  wheat 
bread,  potatoes,  pe*«s,  beans  and  garden  vegetables,  pork,  fish 
and  wild  game.  Sweet-cake,  as  it  was  called,  was  rarely  made ; 
and  pastry  was  almost  wholly  unknown.  Indeed,  we  have  been 
unable  to  learn  that  a  pie  of  any  kind  was  ever  seen  on  a  table 
in  town  till  iieajly  a  dozen  years  after  it  was  first  settled.  About 
that  time,  however,  one  of  the  elder  daughters  of  Colonel  Davis, 
on  noticing  some  fine  pumpkins  that  were  brought  to  the  house 
during  the  harvesting,  conceived  the  ambitious  idea  of  making  a 
mess  of  pumpkin  pies,  and  obtaining  at  last  the  reluctant  consent 
of  her  mother  to  let  her  make  the  experiment,  she  made  a  batch 
which  took  to  a  ch  -rm  with  the  whole  family  and  the  several  vis 
itors  invited  to  partake  of  the  novel  repast.  After  this,  pumpkin 
pies  became  a  staple  of  the  tea  table  on  all  extra  occasions. 

Laboring  men  who,  in  felling  the  forest,  logging,  or  boiling 
salts,  as  the  first  state  of  making  potashes  and  pearls  was  called, 
often  went  considerable  distances  from  their  homes  to  work,  gen 
erally  took  their  dinners  along  with  them  into  the  woods,  leaving 
the  women  to  take  care  of  the  cattle  and  everything  requiring 
attention  about  home.  These  dinners  generally  consisted  of 
baked  or  stewed  pork  and  beans,  and  not  unfrequently  of  only 
bread  and  raw  salt  pork.  Colonel  Davis  always  used  to  recom 
mend  to  his  laborers  to  eat  their  pork  raw  or  without  any  kind 
of  cooking,  contending  that  it  was  more  healthy  when  eaten  in 
that  way  than  in  any  other.  Some  of  the  new  hands  that  had 
been  hired  in  by  the  Colonel  at  last,  however,  rebelled  against 
the  practice.  Among  the  latter  was  Lemuel  Brooks,  the  after 
wards  well-known  Captain  Brooks,  who  assured  his  fellow  labor 
ers,  one  day  after  they  had  been  making  their  dinners  on  raw  pork, 
that  he  was  determined  to  set  his  wits  to  work  and  see  if  he  could 
not,  by  the  next  noon,  get  up  a  more  christianlike  dinner.  Ac 
cordingly  he  came  on  the  next  morning  with  gun  and  amunition, 
and  just  before  noon  stepped  off  into  the  neighboring  thickets 
and  shot  two  or  three  brace  of  patridges,  which,  in  their  chosen 
localities,  were  as  plenty  as  hens  about  a  farm  house.  And  hav 
ing  speedily  plucked  and  dressed  the  birds,  he  suspended  them 
by  the  legs  over  a  fire  struck  and  built  for  the  purpose,  with  a 
thick  slice  of  pork  made  to  hang  directly  above  each,  so  that  the 
salt  gravey  should  drip  upon  or  into  them,  and  moisten  and  sea 
son  them  while  cooking.  As  soon  as  he  had  thus  prepared  his 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  79 

meal,  lie  hallooed  to  the  men,  and,  in  his  usual  jovial  and  hu 
morous  manner,  bid  them  come  in  and  partake  of  his  "  new 
invented  dinner  of  parched patridges."  And  parched patridges 
thenceforward  became  a  favorite  meal  among  the  woodmen  of  the 
settlement. 

The  out-door  work,  at  the  period  of  which  we  have  been  speak 
ing,  was  by  no  means  all  performed  by  the  male  inhabitants. 
Wives  and  daughters  considered  it  no  disparagement  to  go  out 
to  work  in  the  fields,  or  even  into  the  forest  whenever  the 
occasion  required  it  at  their  hands.  They  boiled  salts  and 
made  maple  sugar  at  times  in  the  woods,  and  often,  in  busy  sea 
sons,  worked  with  their  husbands,  lathers  or  brothers,  in  making 
hay,  harvesting  grain,  husking  corn  and  digging  potatoes  in  the 
field.  The  wives  and  daughters  of  the  rich  and  poor  alike 
cheerfully  engaged  in  all  thes-e  out-door  employments,  when  the 
work,  for  want  of  the  necessary  male  help  or  other  circumstances, 
seemed  to  invite  their  assistance.  Even  Colonel  Davis,  whose 
family  was  regarded  as  standing  in  the  first  position  in  society, 
could  be  seen  leading  his  bevy  of  beautiful  daughters  into  his 
fields  to  pull  flax. 

But  frugality  in  modes  of  dress,  the  supplies  of  the  table,  and 
other  domestic  arrangements  fur  saving  expenses  and  living  with 
in  their  means,  did  not  constitute  the  whole  of  their  syt^tem  of 
economy.  Their  provident  forecast  taught  them  the  evils  of 
debt.  For  they  felt  that  under  the  depressing  influence  of  that 
sort  of  slavery,  they  could  never  enjny  that  feeling  of  proud  in 
dependence  which  they  carefully  cherished,  and  which  constituted 
the  best  part  of  their  happiness.  They  rightly  appreciated,  also, 
the  bad  moral  tendencies  of  that  evil,  than  which  scarcely  noth 
ing  more  silently  and  surely  tends,  with  its  numberless  tempta 
tions,  to  do  what  we  otherwise  would  not  do,  to  debase  our  best 
feelings  and  convictions  as  men,  and  undermine  our  best  civic 
virtues  as  freemen.  Our  first  settlers,  therefore,  carefully  avoid 
ed  it,  making  their  calculations  far  ahead  so  to  live,  so  to 
purchase,  and  so  to  enlarge  their  plans  of  improvement,  as  to 
keep  out  of  debt,  and  often  foregoing  the  most  tempting  of  bar 
gains  rather  than  increase  it. 

Of  this  praisworthy  system  a  good  illustration  may  be  seen  in 
the  example  of  the  late  William  Marsh,  the  orphan  son  of  the 
first  settler  of  Waterbury — who,  as  mentioned  in  a  former  chap 
ter,  was  drowned  in  the  Winooski  near  Richmond.  One  day  in 
the  summer  of,  we  think,  1790,  as  Colonel  Davis  was  hoeing 
potatoes  in  the  then  mellow  and  wonderfully  productive  strip  ot 
meadow  lying  along  the  river,  and  now  occupied  by  the  buildings 
and  gardens  on  the  southerly  side  of  Barre  or  Hubbard  Street, 


80  HISTORY   OP  MONTPELIER. 

a  hardy,  resolute  looking  boy  of  fourteen  approached  him  and 
made  known  his  wish  to  obtain  a  place  to  live  and  work  till  ho 
was  one-and-twenty.  After  scanning  and  examining  the  lad 
closely  a  few  minutes,  the  Colonel  made  a  bargain  with  him  on 
the  spot,  conditioned,  as  usual,  for  his  faithfulness  and  good  be 
havior,  and  at  once  took  him  into  the  family,  with  whom  he  lived 
till  he  was  of  age,  when  he  received  from  his  employer  the  then 
rather  generous  sum  of  forty  pounds  for  his  services.  With  that 
forty  pounds  he  immediately  purchased,  at  four  dollars  per  acre, 
twenty-five  acres  of  land,  which  made  the  nucleus  of  his  subse 
quent  extensive  homestead  on  the  Worcester  Branch,  about  a 
mile  above  Montpelier  village.  With  the  balance  of  his  outfit, 
about  eight  pounds,  added  to  his  earnings  the  part  of  the  summer 
he  was  left  at  liberty,  he  purchased  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  a  cow, 
which,  to  his  great  uneasiness,  left  him,  at  the  end  of  the  year, 
about  two  pounds  in  debt.  But  as  it  was  his  first,  so  he  resolved 
it  should  be  his  last  debt.  With  this  determination,  he  settled 
down  upon  his  land,  and  living  up  to  the  rule  he  had  thus  estab 
lished  for  himself,  he  would  purchase  no  addition  to  his  land  till 
he  had  acquired  the  means  of  paying  for  it ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
had  acquired  such  means  he  laid  them  out,  as  far  as  they  would 
go,  in  purchasing  an  additional  and  adjoining  piece  of  land. 
And  so  he  continued,  as  he  passed  along  in  life  and  throve  in  his 
circumstances,  to  purchase,  as  his  means  warranted  and  oppor 
tunity  presented,  piece  after  piece  of  adjoining  land,  till  his  title 
deeds  became  eleven  in  number,  and  he  at  length  found  himself 
the  possessor  of  a  farm  of  three  hundred  acres,  all  lying  in  an 
unbroken  body. 

An  equally  instructive  example  may  be  seen  in  the  life  of  Mr. 
Elisha  Cummins,  who  now,  at  the  unusual  age  of  about  ninety- 
three,  is  living  at  his  ease,  with  handsome  sums  out  at  interest, 
and  without  owing  a  single  dollar  to  any  man  in  the  world,  on 
the  well-conditioned  and  valuable  homestead  on  which  he  began 
nearly  seventy  years  ago.  He  made  the  purchase  of  the  excel 
lent  lot  of  wild  land  which  now  constitutes  his  farm,  as  he 
informed  us  during  a  late  visit  at  his  house,  in  the  year  1791, 
having  first  ascertained  that  he  could  pay  for  it  in  a  job  of  felling 
and  cutting  up  the  timber  on  a  tract  of  land  in  the  eastern  pan 
of  the  town.  The  job  was  to  fell  and  cut  for  logging,  and  per 
haps  help  log  off,  the  forest  on  forty  acres  of  wild  land.  This 
it  took  him  two  years  to  accomplish ;  but  when  it  was  finally 
accomplished,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  had 
then  a  good  lot  of  land  of  his  own  from  which  to  make  a  farm, 
and  that  it  was  then  fully  paid  for.  He  then  commenced  making 
an  opening  on  his  purchase,  and  building  a  log  house  for  himself 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  81 

and  prospective  family  ;  and  since  that  time,  he  said,  though  lie 
had  raised  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  and  assisted 
them  to  settle  on  farms  around  him,  he  had  never  been  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  dollars  in  debt  in  all  he  owed  at  any  period  of  his 
life. 

To  enable  the  reader  to  estimate  the  cost  of  living  and  the 
profits  of  farming,  as  well  as  to  appreciate  the  frugality  of 
of  settlers,  it  will  be  well  to  note  a  few  of  the  prevailing- 
prices  of  labor,  stock  and  other  products  of  the  day,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  few  necessary  articles  which  the  settlers  were  com 
pelled  to  import  for  their  use  and  consumption  in  living,  or  in 
pursuing  their  ordinary  avocations. 

PRICES  OF  LABOR,  STOCK,  EXPORTED  AND  IMPORTED    ARTICLKS. 

The  wages  of  the  best  class  of  laborers  were  $9,00  per  month, 
and  42  to  50  cents  for  casual  days  work. 

The  common  price  of  wheat  was      67  cents  per  bushel. 
"  "          Indian  corn,  50      "  " 

"  "          oats,  25      "  " 

"  potatoes,        25      "  " 

"  "  best  yoke  of  oxen,    $40  00 

"  best  horses,  50  00 

best  cows,  25  00 

salts  of  lye,  $4  to  #5  per  cwt. 

u  pork,  in  dressed  hogs,     4  to     f)       " 

"  beef,  averaging  4       " 

Of  articles  imported,  the  prices,  fifty  per  cent,  of  which  at 
l^ast  was  clear  profit,  were  : 

For  rock  salt,  $o  per  bushel — common,  #2  50. 

loaf  sugar,  42  cts.  per  pound — brown,  17  to  20  cts. 

common  W.  I.  molasses,  $1  17  per  gallon. 

green  tea,  *2  00  per  pound — poorest  Bohea,  50  cts.  per  lb. 

nutmegs,  12  cts.  each  ;  ginger,  34  cts.  per  lb. ;  pepper,  75. 

iron  shovels,  §1  50  each. 

broad-cloth,  §8  to  §10  per  yd. ;  W.  I.  cotton  cloth,  f>2  cts. : 

calico,  50  to  75  cts. 
W.  I.  rum,  $2  per  gallon, 
dry  salt  fish,  11  cts.  per  pound. 

And  yet,  with  these  extremely  low  prices  for  their  products, 
and  enormously  high  ones  for  their  imported  necessaries,  the 
settlers,  such  was  their  industry  and  frugality,  steadily  prog 
ressed  along  the  way  to  independence  and  wealth.  But  though 
the  openings  in  the  forest,  rapidly  increasing  in  extent  and  num 
ber,  the  more  and  more  highly  cultivated  fields,  the  better  and 
better  filled  barns,  and  the  constantly  multiplying  stock  of  the 

11 


82  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

barn-yards,  made  their  yearly  progress  in  thrift  clearly  obvious 
to  all,  yet  the  ratio  of  that  progress  can  be  accurately  estimated 
only  from  the  financial  statistics  of  the  town.  And  for  this  pur 
pose  we  subjoin  the  several  Grand  Lists  of  the  town  from  its 
organization  for  the  next  succeeding  fifteen  years,  or  to  and  in 
cluding  1807,  all  taken  yearly  and  on  the  same  plan. 

GRAND  LISTS  OF  MONTPELIER  FROM  1792  TO  180G,  INCLUSIVE. 

For  1792  the  Town  Grand  List  was  $2,141  07 

1793  "  3,075  00 

1794  4,531  67 

1795  "       "  5,705  83 
179G  7,660  00 

1797  "  9,794  18 

1798  10,963  93 

1799  14,538  75 

1800  15,390  93 

1801  "  16,979  77 

1802  "  17,437  13 

1803  "  18,126  99 

1804  19,310  91 

1805  "  22,920  55 

1806  "       "  25,883  80 

The  increase  of  the  population  of  the  town,  in  the  meanwhile, 
will  be  seen  by  the  different  enumerations  of  the  U.  S.  Census, 
the  whole  of  which,  as  we  may  not  find  a  more  convenient  place 
for  them,  we  will  also  hero  insert. 

CENSUS  OF  MONTPELIER  AT  EACH  OF  THE  SEVEN  ENUMERATIONS. 

By  the  1st  enumeration  in  1791,  the  population  was         11? 

2d  " 
3d 

4th  " 

5th  " 

6th  " 
7th 

By  these  statistics  the  reader  can  make  his  calculations  of  the 
ratio  of  the  increase  of  the  property  of  the  town,  together  with 
the  ratio  of  the  increase  of  its  population,  and  also  the  ratio  of 
the  relative  increase  of  each  and  both. 

Thus  lived  and  thus  throve  the  early  settlers  of  Montpelier ; 
and  thus,  by  so  living,  they  not  only  established  for  themselves 
and  their  posterity  habits  and  examples  which  insured  the  virtues 
indispensible  for  a  well  ordered  community,  but  laid  deep  and 


1800, 

u 

890 

1810, 

u 

1,877 

1820, 

a 

2,308 

1830, 

a 

2,985 

1840, 

a 

3,725 

1850,) 

Montpelier,  2,310  , 
East  M.,       1,448  ' 

-united,    3,758 

HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  83 

safe  the  foundations  of  a  town  which  now  finds  few  rivals  in  sta 
bility  of  character,  individual  wealth  and  general  prosperity. 

And  did  these  first  settlers,  in  their  simplicity  of  life,  undergo 
any  hardships  and  privations  which  were  felt  by  them  to  be  such  ? 
No.  To  them,  with  their  dispositions,  and  with  their  robust 
health  and  strength,  labor  was  alike  their  ambition  and  delight. 
All  the  substantiate  of  life  they  had  in  abundance,  and  the  want 
of  its  superfluities  never  cost  them  a  single  sigh. 

And  did  they  lose  or  forego  any  of  the  happiness  which  falls  to 
the  ordinary  lot  of  humanity  to  enjoy  ?  Again,  no.  In  the  first 
place,  high  health  is  but  another  name  for  happiness  ;  and  this, 
in  its  best  development,  they  almost  universally  acquired  through 
their  constant  exercise  out  of  doors,  and  the  well  known  invigo 
rating  efi'ects  of  the  more  oxygenous  atmosphere  of  new  countries. 
-'  Why,  sir,"  once  said  an  old  settler  to  us, — "  why,  the  forest 
lands,  among  which  we  were  generally  at  work,  smelt  so  pure 
and  sweet  that  we  seemed  to  drink  in  health  at  every  breath. 
And  we  were  wonderfully  healthy  and  strong.  Rarely  was  any 
one  ailing,  and  the  doctors  found  mighty  poor  picking."  And 
this  animal  happiness,  these  bounding  pulses  of  health  gave 
double  zest  to  all  the  enjoyments  of  the  young,  in  their  wrestling 
and  shooting  matches,  their  husking  and  dancing  frolics  ;  and  of 
the  old  in  their  more  quiet  social  gatherings  ;  and  all  seeming 
fully  to  realize  in  their  lives  the  beautiful  lines  of  the  poet — 

"  Their  best  companions,  innocence  and  health, 
And  their  best  riches,  ignorance  of  wealth. 
Then  happy  they  who  crown,  in  shades  like  these, 
A  youth  of  labor  with  an  age  of  ease." 


CHAPTER  VIJ. 

FIRST     MILITARY    COMPANY,    TOWN     LIBRARY,    HEALTHINESS    OF   THK 

TOWN — DEATHS     AND     BIRTHS     UP     TO     1800. FIRST     SCHOOLS, 

MERCHANTS,    MECHANICS    AND    PROFESSIONAL   MEN. 

WHILE  thus  far  endeavoring  to  give,  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence,  all  the  leading  events  and  incidents  connected  with 
the  settlement  and  growth  of  the  town  previous  to  1800,  we  have 
omitted,  for  want  of  a  convenient  place  for  them,  several  things 
transpiring  at  different  times,  which  have  too  important  a  bearing 
on  its  history  to  be  omitted,  and  which  we  will  now  proceed  to 
supply  to  bring  our  account  up  to  that  period. 


84  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

During  the  winter  of  1794,  as  near  as  we  can  now  ascertain, 
a  Military  Company,  consisting  of  seventy-two  young  or  middle- 
aged  men,  including  several  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
then  but  recently  brought  to  a  close,  was  duly  organized  by  the 
choice  of  officers,  of  whom  Pearley  Davis  was  the  Captain. 
This  office,  however,  Davis  must  have  relinquished  within  six  or 
eight  months,  in  consequence  of  his  promotion  to  that  of  Major 
in  the  regiment  forming  or  formed  of  the  companies  of  this  and 
the  neighboring  towns  :  since  at  the  March  Meeting  of  that  year 
we  find  him  for  the  first  time  designated  as  Captain  Davis,  while 
at  a  Town  Meeting  in  the  following  September  we  find  his  name 
written  Major  Davis.  Captain  Davis'  successors  in  this  office 
are  believed  to  have  been  Barnabas  Doty,  Thomas  McCloud  and 
Isaac  Putnam  ;  while  Davis  himself  passed  rapidly  along  in  the 
line  of  military  promotion  till  he  reached  the  office  of  General. 

During  the  year  1794,  also,  a  Library  Association  was  organ 
ized,  the  books  procured,  and  a  Circulating  Library  established  at 
the  Centre  of  the  town,  probably  in  the  house  of  Pearley  Davis. 
Among  the  rules  and  regulations  of  this  association  there  was 
one  which,  as  showing  the  views  of  the  leading  settlers  of  that 
period,  all  of  whom  were  members,  is  worthy  of  observation — and 
that  was  the  entire  exclusion  of  all  works  of  liction  and  all  re 
ligious  books.  Works  of  fiction  they  doubtless  excluded  on 
account  of  their  supposed  tendency  to  engender  a  morbid  imag 
ination  and  undermine  those  practical  virtues  on  which  the 
permanent  progress  and  prosperity  of  a  new  country  must  ever 
mainly  depend.  And  in  regard  to  the  prevailing  novels  of  that 
day — consisting  of  the  works  of  Smollet  and  Fielding,  and  that 
still  worse  class  of  sickly,  sentimental  love  stories  and  over 
strained  pictures  of  life  then  in  vogue — the  founders  of  that 
library  doubtless  judged  wisely,  and  did  well  in  excluding  them. 
Religions  books  could  not  have  been  excluded  by  them  from  any 
want  of  reverence  for  religion,  for  there  were  no  infidels  among 
them,  and  we  find  them  not  only  encouraging  transient  ministers 
to  come  and  preach  among  them,  but  early  making  a  move  for 
the  introduction  of  permanent  preaching.  Their  object  must 
have  been  the  avoidance  of  sectarian  discords,  and  the  pres 
ervation,  as  long  as  possible,  of  social  harmony  among  the 
people ;  and  knowing  that  a  large  proportion  of  religious  books 
were  of  a  controversial  character,  and  favored  one  sect  or  an 
other,  they  thought  it  the  wiser  course,  probably,  with  such  an 
object  in  view,  to  exclude  the  whole  of  them.  Their  Library, 
therefore,  containing  about  two  hundred  volumes,  was  made  up 
of  history,  travels,  biography,  and  works  of  a  scientific,  philo 
sophic  or  moral  character.  These  books  were  freely  and  con- 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPEL1ER.  OO 

stantly  circulated,  for  a  long  period  of  years,  through  every  part 
of  the  town.  And  who  is  there  that  can  fully  estimate  the  influ 
ence  and  ultimate  beneficial  effects  of  that  general  reading,  on 
that  and  the  succeeding  generations  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  in  creating  a  taste  for  reading,  spreading  information 
among  all,  and  forming  their  intellectual  characters  ?  It  has 
been  written,  published,  and  allowed  to  stand  undisputed  nearly 
twenty  years,  in  a  work  read  and  known  of  all  in  this  State,  in 
relation  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  town  of  Montpelier,  espec 
ially  the  agricultural  portion  of  their  community,  that  they  have 
ever  been  distinguished  for  a  taste  for  reading,  and  a  more  than 
ordinary  share  of  general  intelligence.  And  if  this  be  so,  who 
need  doubt  the  instrumentality  to  which  it  is  to  be  mainly  at 
tributed  ? 

The  early  settlers  of  Montpelier,  as  we  have  already  intimated 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  enjoyed  a  degree  of  health  which  ap 
pears  to  have  been  almost  unprecedented  in  the  experience  of 
any  country.  And  their  exemption  from  mortality,  from  the 
commencement  of  the  settlement  to  the  year  1800,  comprising  a 
period  of  twelve  years  and  eight  months,  was  certainly  a  very 
extraordinary  one.  The  deaths  were  so  few  in  number,  indeed, 
during  that  period,  that  one  can  all  but  count  two-thirds  of  them 
on  his  ten  fingers  by  going  over  once.  And  as  we  doubt  whether 
\ve  can  more  acceptably  occupy  the  little  space  required  for  the 
purpose,  we  will  give  the  list  entire,  with  the  names  of  each, 
their  ages  as  far  as  may  be,  the  diseases  or  casualties  by  which 
they  died,  and  the  dates  of  their  deaths,  all  appended. 

For  the  first  four  years  and  seven  months  after  the  commence 
ment  of  the  settlement  not  a  single  death  occurred,  from  any 
cause  whatever,  in  any  part  of  the  town  ;  and  the  list  begins 
with  the  melancholly  casualty  which  we  have  before  described 
as  occurring  on  the  night  of  the  first  Thanksgiving  and  first 
ball  held  in  Montpelier.  We  proceed,  then,  with  the  list,  as  fol 
lows  : — 

1791,  Dec.  3 — Theophilus  Wilson  Brooks,  of  drowning  in  the 
Winooski,  aged  26  years. 

1792 — No  deaths  in  town. 

1793 — No  deaths  in  town. 

1794,  Nov.  4 — Betsy  Gate,  child  of  Enoch  Gate,  of  quinsy  or 

croup,  aged  8  months. 

1795,  Jan.  12 — Debby  Daphne,  child  of  David  Wing,  Jr.,  of 

lung  fever,  aged  1  year. 
4U       February — Twin  infants  of   Allen    Carpenter,  of  fits, 

aged  3  weeks. 

April  or  May — Luther  Wheeler,  son  of  J.  B.  Wheeler, 
of  quinsy,  aged  4  years. 


86  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

1796 — No  deaths  in  town. 

1797,  March — Samuel  Edwards,  of  consumption,  first  adult 

dying  a  natural  death,  aged  26  years. 

u  in  summer Caswell,  step-daughter  of  B.  Nash, 

from  the  fall  of  a  tree,  aged  about  6  years. 

"  in  summer — A  child  of  Frank  West,  of  disease  un 
known,  aged  about  1  year. 

1798,  Feb.  2— Infant  child  of  Joseph  Wing,  aged  1  day. 

u       March  8 — Lucy,  child  of  Edmund  Doty,  from  wound  by 

scissors  over  the  eye,  aged  1  year  six  months. 
u       March  12 — Anson,    son    of   Thomas   Davis,  of   fever, 

aged  2  years  5  months. 
"       in  fall — A  young  man  named  Thaddeus  White,  on  East 

Hill,  of  fever,  age  unknown. 
u       Dec.  14 — A  child  of  Robert  Gifford,  up  the  Branch, 

disease  unknown,  aged  4  months. 

1799,  May — S.  Hamblin,  disease  unknown,  aged,  but  age  un 

known. 
"       in    summer — Hannah   Parker,    of    consumption,    aged 

about  20. 

Thus  it  appears  by  the  foregoing,  which  we  have  taken  great 
pains  to  make  a  full  and  correct  list,  that  only  sixteen  deaths 
occurred  during  the  whole  before  named  period  of  nearly  thir 
teen  years,  being  less  than  one  and  a  fourth  death  a  year  on  the 
average.  The  population  of  the  town  in  1791  was  113,  in  1800 
890  ;  and  could  we  average  the  population  among  the  years,  it 
would  probably  stand  at  about  400  through  the  whole  time,  which 
would  give  the  rate  of  little  more  than  one  yearly  death  out  of 
that  number  of  inhabitants.  It  has  been  assumed,  from  the  sta 
tistics  of  thorough  and  repeated  registrations,  made  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  that  one  yearly  death  in  every  fifty  inhab 
itants  "may  be  fixed  upon  as  a  healthy  and  natural  standard''  at 
the  present  day.  From  these  statistics  it  is  seen  that,  in  the 
rural  districts  of  England,  and  also  of  the  States  of  Massachu 
setts  and  Rhode  Island  in  New  England,  the  yearly  deaths 
average  not  far  from  one  in  sixty  of  the  inhabitants,  the  greater 
mortality  in  the  cities  (  one  in  forty )  reducing  the  general  aver 
age,  in  the  whole  of  the  countries  just  named,  to  one  in  fifty. 
By  the  late  registrations  for  1857  and  1858  in  Vermont,  which 
is  doubtless  the  most  healthy  state  in  the  Union,  the  number  of 
yearly  deaths,  after  making  reasonable  deductions  for  deficien 
cies  in  returns,  cannot  be  placed  at  a  smaller  rate  than  one  yearly 
death  out  of  seventy  of  its  inhabitants.  But  by  our  calculations 
of  the  deaths  in  Montpelier,  during  the  period  for  which  they 
have  been  made,  we  make  out  but  a  little  more  than  one  yearly 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  87 

death  out  of  four  hundred  of  the  inhabitants,  a  rate  of  mortality 
so  unprecedented!/  low  as  fully  to  justify  us  in  calling  it,  as  we 
did  at  the  outset,  a  truly  extraordinary  one.  And  when  we  take 
into  the  consideration  that  of  the  sixteen  deaths  we  have  enumer 
ated  but  five  were  adults, — that  but  four  of  those  died  of  disease, 
and  that  the  other  eleven  were  infants  or  small  children,  and  that 
but  nine  of  that  number  died  of  disease, — the  degree  of  health 
enjoyed  by  these  early  settlers  is  made  to  appear  still  more 
striking. 

One  reason  of  this  remarkable  exemption  from  mortality  is, 
doubtless,  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  immigrants 
were  persons  in  the  prime  of  life  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  robust 
health  when  they  came,  few  others  being  willing  to  encounter 
the  supposed  hardships  of  a  new  country.  Other  reasons  may 
be  looked  for  in  the  superior  healthiness  of  all  new  countries,  in 
our  northern  climes  at  least,  and  in  their  greater  immunity  from 
the  destructive  vices.  But  allowing  the  fullest  force  to  all  these 
reasons,  such  health  as  we  have  seen  in  this  setttlement  is,  we 
apprehend,  rarely  experienced  in  any  country,  new  or  old  ;  and 
as  that  health,  as  all  the  statistics  of  other  towns  yet  published 
will  show,  has  never  ceased  to  compare  with  that  of  the  most 
favored  places,  we  may  justly  claim  that  the  location  of  our  town 
is  at  least  one  of  the  very  healthiest  in  the  State.* 

The  whole  number  of  births  in  town  during  the  period  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking  we  make  out  to  have  been 
one  hundred  and  thirty,  which,  calling  that  period  thirteen  years, 
would  make  an  average  of  ten  birihs  a  year.  By  the  two  late 
registrations  of  births  and  deaths  in  this  State,  to  which  we  have 
already  alluded,  we  find  the  whole  number  of  births  to  have  been 
a  small  fraction  less  than  double  the  number  of  deaths  ;  and  two 
births  to  one  death  is  as  favorable  a  result  as  we  may  ever  ex 
pect  to  see  exhibited  by  the  statistics  of  any  State  or  County,  at 
the  present  day.  But  in  the  case  of  the  early  settlers  of  this 
town  we  see  the  excess  of  births  over  deaths  to  have  been  seven 
fold,  thus  furnishing  another  test  of  the  extreme  healthiness  of 
the  settlement,  and  at  the  same  time  indubitable  proof  of  as  ex- 

*  The  residents  of  Montpelier,  at  least,  need  only  cast  their  minds  back  on  the  past 
to  see  the  confirmation  of  our  statement  in  the  instances  of  longevity  which,  at  any 
given  period  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  have  been  exhibited 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  A  few  years  ago  there  were  more  than  a  dozen 
old  men  bordering  on  ninety,  such  as  John  Taplin,  Aaron  Grisworld  and  others.  Last 
year  old  Mr.  Levi  Humphrey  and  Nath'l  Clark,  of  the  band  of  the  first  settlers,  left  us. 
And  even  now  quite  a  number  of  the  same  hardy  band  are  found  lingering  among  us. 
at  the  extreme  age  of  ninety  and  over,  such  as  Elisha  Cummins,  Thomas  Davis,  Jon 
athan  Shepard  and  the  venerable  Captain  Nathan  Jewett.  The  .latter,  the  son-in-law 
of  the  once  widely  known  Gov.  Elisha  Paine,  from  whom  our  present  Hon.  Elisha 
Paine  Jewett  took  his  name,  is  now  ninety-  four  years  old,  probably  the  oldest  man  in 
Washington  County, 


88  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

treme  fruitfulness  in  the  incomparably  most  precious  of  its  pro 
ductions. 

OF  THE  BIRTHS, 

The  first  one  that  occurred  in  town  was  that  of  Clarisa 
Davis,  youngest  daughter  of  Col.  Jacob  Davis,  who  was  born 
September  22,  1789,  and  who  still  survives,  as  the  respected 
consort  of  the  Hon.  George  Worthington,  of  Montpelier.  The 
second  one  was  that  of  James  Dodge,  the  son  of  Solomon  Dodge, 
who  was  born  April  5th,  1790,  and  who  still  survives,  in  Mont 
pelier  or  in  the  borders  of  Calais.  The  third  was  John  Hawkins, 
son  of  James  Hawkins,  who  was  born  March  25th,  1791,  and 
removed  from  town  with  his  father  to  Upper  Canada  soon  after 
the  year  1800.  And  the  fourth  was  Mary  Templeton,  daughter 
of  the  first  John  Templeton,  who  was  born  May  3d,  1791,  mar 
ried  Stephen  Brown,  then  of  Montpelier,  and  died  somewhere 
about  1820. 

OF  THE  MARRIAGES, 

The  first  that  occurred  in  town  was  that  of  Jacob  Davis,  Jr., 
of  Montpelier,  and  Caty  Taplin  of  Berlin,  the  ceremony  being1 
performed  by  her  father,  John  Taplin,  Esq.,  on  the  3d  of  Octo 
ber,  1791.  The  second  was  that  of  David  Wing,  Jr.,  and  Han 
nah  Davis,  second  Daughter  of  Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  which  look 
place,  before  the  same  Justice,  November  25,  1792.  And  the 
third  marriage  of  a  Montpelier  settler  was  that  of  Clark  Stevens 
with  Huldah  Foster  of  Rochester,  Mass.,  where  the  ceremony 
was  performed,  Dec.  30, 1792.  All  these  parties  have  long  since 
passed  away,  existing  now  only  in  their  numerous  respectable 
descendants,  and  the  good  memories  they  have  left  with  the 
public  behind  them. 

OF  THE  COMMON  SCHOOLS, 

The  first  one  ever  opened  in  town  was  in  a  log  school  house, 
on  the  river  near  the  Middlesex  line,  and  taught  by  Jacob  Davis, 
Jr.,  the  scholars  coming  from  Col.  Davis'  and  some  other  families 
living  nearest  him,  and  from  Middlesex  and  Dog  River  in  Berlin. 
This  was  the  only  school  in  the  town  and  vicinity  for  about  two 
years.  But  during  the  winter  of  1791-2  David  Wing,  Jr., 
taught  a  school  in  the  new  frame  house  of  Col.  Davis.  A  year 
or  two  after  a  frame  house  was  built  on  the  road  to  the  mills  on 
the  Branch  Falls,  located  near  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  old 
burying  ground.  The  school  in  this  house  was  taught  by  Abel 
Knapp,  afterwards  Judge  Knapp  of  Berlin  ;  and  then  by  a  col 
lege  student  who  somehow  found  his  way  to  this  settlement.  In 
a  few  years  this  school  house  was  burned,  when  another  was 
erected  near  where  the  Methodist  Chapel  now  stands.  To  this 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIEK.  S9 

school  the  pupils  caine  the  distance  of  many  miles  towards  the 
centre  of  the  town.  But  in  1704  the  town  was  divided  into  six 
school  districts,  and  so  great  was  the  increase  of  inhabitants  that 
schools  were  thenceforward  established  in  all  of  them. 

OF  THE  MERCHANTS. 

The  iirst,  who  made  pretensions  to  sell  goods  of  any  kind  in 
town,  was  Dr.  Frye,  so  called,  though  not  a  practicing  physician, 
who  imported  arid  kept  for  sale,  during  the  two  or  three  years 
next  succeeding  1791,  a  few  heavy  articles  such  as  salt,  rum, 
nails,  and  the  few  others  deemed  indispensable  in  the  settlement. 
Me  kept  his  store,  if  such  it  could  be  called,  in  his  own  house — 
the  third  frame  one  built  in  town,  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the 
then  new  road  leading  to  Berlin,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  the 
bridge  over  the  river,  built  about  that  time,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  old  arch  bridge.  This  house  is  yet  standing  next  the  old 
paper  mill,  as  one  of  the  two  only  architectural  relics  of  those 
limes,  still  remaining,  as  it  does,  and  though  nearly  seventy  years 
old,  in  a  state  of  very  tolerable  preservation.  But  Frye,  who, 
even  at  that  day,  was  hardly  deemed  a  merchant,  soon  yielded 
his  occupation  to  Col.  Joseph  Hutchins,  who,  in  the  year  1704. 
opened  a  far  better  assortment  of  goods,  in  a  small  house  and 
store  room  built  for  the  purpose,  next  north  of  the  Frye  house, 
and  then  standing  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  barn  and 
stables  attached  to  the  old  Sliepard  Tavern,  now  the  Farmers' 
Hotel.  In  1796,  Col.  Hutchins  gave  up  his  store  to  his  two  sons, 
.Joseph  and  William  Hutchins,  Joseph  continuing  to  manage  or 
own  the  store  ten  or  twelve  years  or  to  his  death  ;  while  William 
soon  built  the  tavern  house  above  named,  and  occupied  it  till  hi< 
death,  which  occurred  not  many  years  from  that  of  his  brother. 
In  June  1799,  Timothy  Hubbard  and  Wyllys  I.  Cadwell  opened 
a  store  in  the  north  west  front  room  of  the  large  old  house  now 
occupied  by  Wm.  W.  Cadwell,  Esq.,  which  had  been  built  by 
James  Hawkins,  many  years  before,  and  now  makes  up  the  other 
of  the  two  old  houses  above  mentioned.  This  new  firm  went 
into  a  more  extended  variety  than  any  of  their  predecessors, 
including  a  comparatively  fair  assortment  of  dry  goods.  In 
1802,  Hubbard  and  Cadwell  dissolved  partnership,  leaving  Cad 
well  to  build  the  old  store  adjoining,  and  continue  to  trade 
therein  till  his  death  in  1824.  In  1802,  Col.  David  Bobbins, 
who  had,  for  a  year  or  two,  been  trading  on  a  small  scale  in  the 
east  part  of  the  town,  in  a  house  situated  near  the  old  Quaker 
.Meeting  House,  formed  a  partnership  with  Isaac  Freeman  and 
opened  a  store  in  the  village,  standing  on  the  Branch  near  the 
Union  House,  hi  1803,  Langdon  and  Forbes  opened  their  store  ; 

12 


90  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

while,  during  the  same  year,  Timothy  Hubbard  entered  into  a 
mercantile  partnership  with  the  then  Hon.  David  Wing,  when  the 
two  at  once  opened  a  store  and  continued  the  trade  until  Wing's 
death  in  1806. 

OF  THE  TAVERNS. 

The  first  one  was  built  in  1793  by  Col.  Davis,  a  large  and  com 
modious  structure  for  the  times,  placed  on  the  south  east  bank  of 
the  Branch,  over  which,  by  that  time,  the  Colonel  had  extended 
his  clearing  all  along  the  stream  from  the  site  then  chosen  for 
the  building,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Branch.  This  was  the  original 
Union  House,  which  was  burnt  in  1834,  re-built  and  again  burnt 
December,  1859.  This  was  not  only  the  first  tavern  of  the  town, 
I  nit  the  first  ever  opened  in  the  County  as  now  constituted.  It 
was  kept  several  of  the  first  years  by  David  Wing,  who  then 
moved  on  to  the  farm  where  he  died,  now  occupied  by  his  grand 
son,  David  Wing,  and  by  Henry  Nutt,  the  farm  having  been 
divided  between  the  first  David  Wing's  two  oldest  sons,  Columbus 
and  .Sydney  Wing.  The  second  tavern  built  and  opened  was 
by  William  Hutchins,  not  far  from  1800,  as  we  have  already  suffi 
ciently  noticed  under  the  head  of  "  the  Merchants." 

OF  THE  MECHANICS. 

The  first  Carpenter,  Mill  Wright  and  Bridge  Builder  was  Lar- 
ued  Lamb,  the  afterwards  well  known  Colonel  Lamb,  who  was 
noted  for  his  towering  form,  for  his  military  tastes,  ready  wit 
and  lashing  satire  ;  and  who,  after  having  been  many  years  a 
Culonel  in  the  militia,  received  a  Captain's  commission  from  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  sub 
sequently  went  west  and  died  in  St.  Louis  in  1828.  Colonel  Lamb 
built  the  new  frame  house  of  Colonel  Davis,  also  his  new  tavern 
house,  or  the  first  Union  House,  as  before  mentioned.  He  like 
wise  framed  the  first  State  House,  and  with  Palmer,  the  old 
Waterbury  Bridge  Builder,  he  built  also  the  first  bridge  over  the 
river  to  Berlin,  together  with  many  other  bridges  by  himself,  and 
large  buildings  in  this  and  the  neighboring  towns.  The  other 
Carpenters  of  the  town,  at  that  early  day,  were  Luther  Moseley, 
Esq.,  and  a  few  others  who  had  been  in  the  employ  of  Colonel 
Lamb.  And  these  were  followed  soon  by  the  more  ingenious 
and  finished  workmen,  Elisha  Town  and  Sylvanus  Baldwin. 

The  first  Blacksmith  in  town  was  James  Hawkins,  who,  pre 
vious  to  1790,  bought  the  farm  lying  between  the  old  Howard 
place  and  Henry  Nutt's  farm.  Here,  after  having  finished  ofl' 
the  house,  the  frame  of  which  was  the  first  one  raised  in  Mont- 
pelier,  he  erected  a  Blacksmith's  Shop,  and  carried  on  the  busi 
ness  to  a  limited  extent,  in  connection  with  house-building  jobs, 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  01 

for  some  years,  But  Jonathan  Shepard  was  the  first  man  who 
built  a  Blacksmith's  shop  and  put  it  in  operation  in  Montpelier 
village.  He,  at  a  little  later  period,  erected  a  Blacksmith's  shop 
somewhere  in  the  public  corner  at  the  head  of  State  Street,  as 
near  as  he  can  now  point  out,  no  road  then  being  opened  across 
the  Branch  from  the  old  Cadwell  house  ;  and  here,  through  a  hired 
journeyman  Blacksmith,  he  carried  on  the  business  till,  some 
years  after,  he  sold  out  his  shop  and  custom  to  James  Hawkins, 
buying  the  farm  of  the  latter  and  turning  in  therefor,  with  the 
shop  and  other  pa}rments,  the  first  Morgan  horse  ever  known  in 
Vermont  or  elsewhere.* 

The  first  Clothier  in  town  was  David  Tolman,  who  established 
a  shop  for  cloth  dressing,  <fcc.,  adjoining  the  Davis  Mills  on  the 
Branch,  in  about  1796,  having  moved  from  Greensboro'  or  vicinity. 

The  first  Hatter  was  Erastus  Watrous,  Esq.,  who,  having  emi 
grated  from  Connecticut  in  May,  1799,  with  his  young  brother- 
in-law,  George  Worthington,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  trade, 
established  his  shop,  in  the  first  instance,  in  a  part  of  the  build 
ing  occupied  by  Clothier  Tolman. 

The  first  Brick  Maker  was  Paul  Knapp,  who  opened  a  brick 
yard  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  back  of  the  old  Cadwell  house, 
at  an  early  day  enough,  it  is  believed,  to  have  made  the  brick  for 
the  chimnies  of  Colonel  Davis'  new  house. 

OF  THE  PROFESSIONAL  MEN. 

The  first  Physician  was  Dr.  Spaulding  Pierce,  who  established 
himself  in  Montpelier  village  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  set- 
tleinerit — as  early  perhaps  as  1790.  The  next  was  Dr.  Philip 
Vincent,  who  settled  in  the  east  part  of  the  town,  as  early 
as  1793.  The  third  was  Dr.  Edward  Lamb,  who  settled  in 
the  village  in  about  1797.  Drs.  Jacob  P.  Vargeson  and  Stephen 
Peabody,  the  former  in  the  village  and  the  latter  in  the  east  part, 
of  the  town,  settled  and  practiced  a  few  years  before  and  after 
1800.  While,  during  the  whole  intervening  time,  Mrs.  Pearley 
Davis  was  often  sought  in  preference  to  them  all,  in  cases  espec 
ially  of  dislocated  bones,  contracted  sinews  and  injured  limbs  of 
long  standing,  whose  cure  had  baffled  others. 

*The  statement  of  Mr.  Shepard,  who  is  still  alive,  has  been  always  uniformly  and 
confidently  made  as  follows: — He  had  purchased,  at  the  great  price  for  those  days  of 
about  $'200,  u  young  stallion  horse,  of  a  Woodstock  man,  who  had  the  animal  of  one 
•iustin  Morgan  of  that  section,  the  latter  having  reared  him  from  a  colt.  Mr.  S.  fur 
ther  vouches  for  his  personal  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  Justin  Morgan  owned  the 
mare  that  brought  this  colt — that  the  mare  was  so  great  a  traveller  that  Morgan,  who 
had  a  relative  in  Canada  whom  he  often  visited,  used  to  make  the  journey,  which  was 
seventy  miles,  in  a  single  da}' ;  and  that,  on  one  of  these  visits,  this  colt  was  sired  by 
a.  common  Canadian  .stallion.  And  that  it  was  from  this  colt,  growing  up  and  being 
kept  in  Randolph  and  other  places,  that  the  whole  race  of  the  noted  Vermont  Morgan 
horses  originated, 


92  HISTORY    UK    MONTPEUKK. 

The  first  Lawyer  was  Charles  Bulkley,  who  came  into  town 
from  Connecticut  in  about  1707,  lived  at  first  in  the  Frye  house 
in  Montpelier  village,  but  in  a  few  years  moved  aeross  the  river 
into  the  borders  of  Berlin,  having  built  the  one  story  briek  house 
still  standing  near  the  bank  of  the  river,  about  a  dozen  rods 
above  the  Arch  Bridge.  He  was  made  a  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  in  1818,  and  died  in  1886,  a  wealthy  and  much  respected 
citi/en,  leaving  the  bulk  of  his  property  for  benevolent  or  reli 
gious  purposes.  The  second  Lawyer  was  Cyrus  Ware,  who  also 
settled  in  the  village  in  1799,  represented  the  town  in  the  Legis 
lature  in  the  years  1805,  1807,  1808  and  1809,  and  in  1808  was 
made  a  Judge  of  Caledonia  Comity  Court.  And  the  third  Law 
yer  was  Samuel  Prentiss,  who  settled  in  the  village  in  1803,  and 
subsequently  became  the  distinguished  Jurist  and  U.  S.  Senator 
whose  history  belongs  not  only  to  the  town,  but  to  the  State  and 
nation  at  large. 

The  first  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  who  officiated  in  the  settle 
ment  during  the  period  of  which  we  have  been  treating,  and 
even  up  to  1805,  were  mostly  transient  preachers,  or  missionaries, 
as  the  settlers  were  accustomed  to  call  them.  The  good  and 
willing  Uncle  Ziba,  to  be  sure,  being  a  sort  of  a  spontaneous 
Free  Will  Baptist  preacher,  was  ever  ready  to  preach  or  pray 
among  his  fellow  settlers  of  the  town,  when  a  more  regular  min 
ister  could  not  be  obtained  for  the  occasion.*  And  the  devoted 
Rev.  James  flobart,  the  first,  and  long  the  permanent  Minister  of 
Berlin,  was  also  always  equally  prompt  to  come,  pay  or  no  pay, 
to  officiate  at  funerals,  or  to  give  volunteer  sermons  on  the  invi 
tation  of  the  settlers.  But,  as  we  said,  most  of  the  preaching 
came  from  the  Missionaries,  consisting  of  Methodists,  Baptists 
and  Universalists,  all  of  whom,  for  aught  that  now  appears,  were 
alike  well  accepted — for  whatever  the  doctrine  might  be,  it  was 
preaching,  and  that  seemed  to  have  sufficed  with  a  people  too 
seldom  served  to  be  very  particular.  Even  this  class  of  Preach 
ers,  however,  did  not  very  often  make  their  appearance  in  the 
settlement  until  the  town,  as  such,  began  to  agitate  in  earnest 
the  question  of  devoting  the  rents  of  the  Gospel  Lands  for  the 
procurement  and  support  of  preaching;  when,  by  a  singular  co 
incidence,  their  visits  suddenly  became  quite  frequent. 

In  the  summer  of  1799  there  was  got  up  a  great  public  meet 
ing  for  a  doctrinal  debate  between  the  ministers  ot  two  of  the 
rival  persuasions  of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  The  cham 
pions  on  the  occasion  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mitchel,  of  some  other 

*Ziba  Woodworth,  the  first  Town  Clerk  of  Montpelier,  the  crippled  survivor  of  thr 
massacre  of  Fort  Griswold,  and  the  ardent,  eccentric  man,  Christian  and  politician. 
>vas  universally  known  by  the  appellation  of  Uncle  Ziba. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER,  9?» 

part  of  the  State,  on  the  part  of  the  Methodists,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Farewell,  of  Barrc,  on  the  part  of  the  Universalists.  The 
spot  chosen  for  the  meeting  was  in  the  then  open  meadow  near  the 
east  bank  of  the  Branch,  twelve  or  fifteen  rods  south  of  the  new 
tavern,  or  first  Union  House,  a  little  back  of  the  present  Lyman 
store  building  and  opposite  the  Brick  Church.  And  here,  in  the 
open  air  and  among  the  st'.ll  standing  stumps,  and  on  the  exuber 
antly  growing  grass,  a  platform  for  the  speakers  was  made,  by 
placing  side  by  side  long  tables  brought  out  from  the  tavern  ; 
\\rhen,  one  at  a  time,  the  ecclesiastic  gladiators  mounted  the  ros 
trum  and  proceeded  with  the  appointed  encounter.  It  had  been 
mutually  arranged  between  the  speakers  that  neither  should  oc 
cupy  but  fifteen  minutes  at  a  time,  or  before  yielding  the  stand 
to  his  antagonist,  eacli  doubtless  feeling  conscious  of  his  ability 
to  give  the  other  in  that  time  as  much  as  he  could  digest  and 
answer  in  the  like  succeeding  interval.  And  thus,  alternately 
speaking  and  retiring  and  preparing  for  the  renewed  onset,  they 
hotly  continued  the  contest  hour  after  hour,  till  their  intellectual 
ammunition  and  the  patience  of  the  audience  were  alike  exhaust 
ed,  when  the  meeting  broke  up — both  of  the  speakers  claiming  the 
victory  in  argument,  but  leaving  their  hearers,  in  fact,  far  more 
distracted  in  religious  sentiments  than  they  had  ever  been  before. 

And  to  the  divided  state  of  doctrinal  opinions  among  the  peo 
ple,  which  from  that  time  grew  more  decided  and  apparent,  was, 
in  a  great  measure,  attributable,  perhaps,  the  fact  that  they  did 
not  agree,  till  more  than  five  years  after  this  memorable  disputa 
tion,  to  appropriate  any  of  the  public  monies  for  any  stated 
preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

In  taking  a  final  retrospect  of  this  important  period  of  the 
first  dozen  years  of  the  settlement  of  the  town  of  Montpelier. 
and  while  noting  the  .rapid  and  steady  progress  of  its  improve 
ments  during  that  time,  and  in  glancing  over  the  names  of  the 
hardy,  resolute  and  enterprising  little  band>  who  were  most 
instrumental  in  effecting  what  had  been  so  clearly  accomplished 
in  giving  a  start  towards  building  up  a  permanently  prosperous 
town  and  community,  we  cannot  but  perceive  the  controlling 
agency  exercised  by  two  men  among  them,  to  whom  the  town 
should  forever  hold  itself  especially  indebted  for  the  foundations 
of  its  subsequent  growth  and  importance.  Those  two  men  were 
Colonel  Jacob  Davis  and  the  Honorable  David  Wing — the  for 
mer,  by  his  indomitable  energy  and  far  reaching  sagacity,  begin- 
ing  and  driving  forward  the  work  of  settlement,  shaping  its 
course  for  its  future  as  well  as  present  interests,  and  giving  it 
an  impetus  which  might,  even  under  any  ordinary  agencies, 
insure  its  onward  movement  through  many  generations  to  come — 


94  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

and  the  latter,  by  his  great  intelligence,  correct  tastes  and  eleva 
ted  public  spirit,  moulding  all  its  municipal  polity,  systematizing 
its  form  of  business,  and  ever  using  all  his  influence  for  measures 
to  insure  its  intellectual  and  moral  improvement,  thus  establish 
ing  precedents  in  town  business,  and  securing  legislative  enact 
ments  in  its  behalf,  the  effects  and  advantages  of  which  have 
continued  to  be  felt  to  the  present  day. 

But  in  justice  to  others,  it  should  be  added  that  these  two  men 
were  ever  well  seconded  and  sustained  in  their  exertions  for  the 
welfare  of  the  people  and  the  prosperity  of  the  town,  by  all  the 
principal  settlers,  among  whom,  the  most  conspicuous  in  action, 
might  be  named  the  energetic  and  public  spirited  Pearley  Davis  ; 
the  pure  minded  and  intellectual  Clark  Stevens  ;  the  intelligent 
and  judicious  Jerahmel  B.  and  Benjamin  I.  Wheeler;  the  frank, 
genial  and  active  Lemuel  Brooks  ;  the  ardent  Ziba,  and  the  sen 
sible  Joseph  Woodworth  ;  the  noble  Isaac  Putnam,  together  with 
Joseph  and  Josiah  Wing,  Simon,  John  and  Elisha  Cummins, 
Thomas  jBrooks,  Capt.  Thomas  West,  William  Marsh,  Nathan 
iel  and  Hezekiah  Davis,  Nathaniel  Clark,  Theophilus  Clark  and 
his  brother,  the  Pecks,  the  Dodges  and  the  Templetons — all  of 
whom,  as  the  representatives  of  the  town  in  the  Legislature,  Jus 
tices  of  the  Peace,  or  as  different  town  officers,  acted  more  or 
less  important  parts  in  the  public  affairs  of  the  settlement. 


CHAPTER  VI I L 

GROWTH    OF     THE    VILLAGE.  —  EDUCATIONAL     INTERESTS. — EPIDEM 
ICS.  ECCLESIASTICAL      A  FF  AIRS . NEWSPAPERS .  —  THE     T< )  WN 

MADE     THE    SEAT     OF     GOVERNMENT.  —  TOWN   EMBRACED    IN    THE 
NEW    COUNTY    AND    MADE    THE    SHIRE. 

By  the  year  1800,  the  Lower  Pitch  of  Colonel  Davis,  embrac 
ing  the  meadows  on  the  lower  half  mile  of  the  Little  North 
Branch,  and  nearly  another  half  mile  on  the  Winooski,  then  and 
for  years  afterwards  universally  called  The  Hollow,  had  become 
a  clustered  settlement  containing  a  score  or  two  of  houses  and 
as  many  hundred  inhabitants.  It  then  could  boast  of  its  two 
stores,  two  taverns,  two  lawyers,  and  the  usual  assortment  of 
mechanics, — all  combining  to  dignify  it  with  the  name  of  Village, 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  95 

and  make  it,  as  the  nearly  exclusive  seat  of  trade,  litigation  and 
mechanic  work,  a  general  resort  and  a  place  of  much  compara 
tive  importance  with  all  the  surrounding  country.  And,  as 
thenceforward  a  large  and  yearly  increasing  share  of  the  public 
transactions,  secret  or  social  movements  calculated  to  exercise 
influences  on  the  community  at  large,  and  the  consequent  impor 
tant  or  interesting  events,  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
town,  had  their  origin  here,  the  Village  must  now  be  allowed  to 
occupy  a  proportionate  share  of  our  attention. 

EDUCATIONAL    INTERESTS. 

The  year  1800  was  marked  by  the  movement  which  resulted 
in  the  founding,  and  the  eventual  funding  of  the  present  Wash 
ington  County  Grammar  School.  On  the  7th  of  November  of 
that  year,  the  "  Trustees  of  Montpelier  Academy"  were  incor 
porated,  the  act  of  incorporation  being  procured  by  the  Honor 
able  David  Wing,  then  the  town  representative  in  the  Legisla 
ture.  The  Trustees  thus  incorporated  were  Col.  Jacob  Davis, 
Charles  Bulkley,  David  Wing,  Jr.,  Jerahmel  B.  Wheeler  and 
Thomas  West,  Jr.  And  in  pursuance  of  the  laudable  and  spir 
ited  design  here  involved,  a  building,  44  by  36  feet  on  the 
ground,  and  two  stories  high,  affording  space  above  and  below 
not  only  for  two  large  school  rooms  but  apartments  for  a  teacher 
and  his  family,  was,  within  the  next  year  or  two,  erected  and 
finished  off  for  immediate  use,  by  money  raised  from  the  sub 
scriptions  of  the  citizens  of  the  town. 

The  first  preceptor  employed  in  this  Academy,  was  a  Mr. 
James  Whorter,  a  temporary  teacher,  or  one,  at  least,  who  could 
not  have  remained  over  one  year.  His  successors  were  James 
Dean,  Joseph  Sill,  Benton  Pixley,  Ira  Hill,  Thomas  Heald, 
Justus  W.  French,  Seneca  White,  Heman  Rood,  John  Stevens, 
Jonathan  C.  Southmayd,  J.  B.  Eastman,  A.  A.  Wood,  A.  G. 
Pease,  Calvin  Pease,  J.  H.  Morse,  M.  Colburn,  Geo.  N.  Clark, 
Davis  Strong,  Horace  Herrick,  J.  E.  Goodrich,  Charles  Kent,  C. 
R.  Ballard,  and  the  present  preceptor  of  1859  and  1860,  Dr.  M. 
M.  Marsh, 

Of  these,  James  Dean  became  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
\rermont  University,  and  Calvin  Pease  and  Geo.  N.  Clark  be 
came  Professors  also,  at  a  later  period,  in  the  same  institution, 
and  Mr.  Pease  finally  its  President.  Several  others  besides 
those  above  named  have,  at  intervals,  been  employed  for  one  or 
two  terms,  but  not  as  permanent  teachers.  And  of  those  enu 
merated,  far  the  greatest  proportion  taught  but  one  or  two  years. 
Those  who  continued  longest  Preceptors  were  Calvin  Pease,  who 
taught  four  years,  and  Jonathan  C.  Southmayd,  who  taught 


96  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

twelve  years.  And  these  two  last  named  were  also  among  the 
very  best  instructors  to  be  found  in  any  country.  To  Jonathan 
C.  Southmayd  especially,  from  his  long  stay  and  his  peculiar 
combination  of  fine  qualities,  both  as  a  teacher  and  a  man,  not 
only  the  educational  interests  of  the  town,  but  its  social,  moral 
and  general  intellectual  improvement  were  deeply  indebted. 

During  the  October  session  of  the  Legislature,  1818,  on  the 
petition  of  its  Trustees,  an  act  was  passed  changing  the  Corpo 
ration  to  a  County  Institution,  under  the  name  of  The  Trustees 
of  Washing-ton  County  Grammar  School,  and  appropriating  the 
rents  of  the  Grammar  School  Lands  lying  within  the  County  to 
its  exclusive  use. 

The  old  Academy  was  burned  in  1822,  and  the  present  old 
brick  one  built  in  1823,  at  a  cost  of  11600,  about  $800  of  which 
was  also  raised  by  subscription.  The  present  brick  edifice  for 
the  Academy  and  Union  School  was  built  in  1858-9,  at  an  ex 
pense  of  $19,000,  and  has  no  superior  in  the  State. 

During  the  years  1800-1-2  the  Common  School  districts  of 
the  town,  then  consisting  of  ten  in  number,  received  a  final  re 
modeling,  destined  to  stand,  in  the  shape  then  established,  for 
the  next  twenty  years.  An  enumeration  of  the  scholars  in  all 
the  several  districts  was  also  made  in  1802,  and  the  whole  num 
ber  found  to  be  about  four  hundred.  The  common  schools  of 
that  and  the  succeeding  period  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  were, 
notwithstanding  the  absence  of  all  general  State  school  systems, 
by  no  means  of  an  inferior  character.  The  common  English 
branches  of  education,  such  as  Reading,  Spelling,  Writing, 
Arithmetic,  Grammar  and  Geography,  were  generally  well  and 
thoroughly  taught.  The  modern  text  books,  simplifying  most  of 
these  sciencies  for  the  more  ready  comprehension  of  the  pupil, 
and  prepared  with  questions  for  more  rapid  progress  in  study, 
may  have  indeed  ensured  greater  acquisitions  in  a  given  time  : 
but  it  may  yet  remain  a  question  whether  the  benefits  of  the 
greater  acquirement  under  the  newer  systems  are  not  mostly  or 
quite  counterbalanced  by  the  less  mental  discipline. 

EPIDEMICS. 

Endemics  we  have  none.  From  first  to  last  no  diseases  have 
made  their  appearance  in  town  which  could  be  discovered  to  be 
peculiar  to  the  place,  or  to  have  been  generated  by  any  standing; 
local  causes.  Of  Epidemics,  Montpelier  has  had  its  share,  but 
still  a  light  share  compared,  as  we  believe,  with  a  majority  of 
the  towns  in  the  State,  only  four  deserving  the  name  having  oo 
eurred  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  to  the  present  day. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  Dysentery,  which  fatally  prevailed 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  97 

throughout  the  town,  in  common  with  most  other  towns  in  Ver 
mont,  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1802.  The  victims  of  this 
epidemic,  in  Montpelier,  were  Mrs.  Sophia  ^atrous,  wife  of 
Erastus  Watrous,  Esq. ;  Erastus  Hubbard,  a  younger  brother  of 
Timothy  Hubbard ;  John  Wiggins,  another  young  man  ;  and  a 
considerable  number  of  children. 

The  second  of  these  epidemics  was  the  Typhus  Fever,  which 
prevailed  in  town  to  a  considerable  extent  in  the  summer  season 
of  1806,  and  proved  fatal  to  Montpelier's  favorite  and  most  hon 
ored  citizen,  David  Wing,  Jr.,  then  Secretary  of  State.  Luther 
Mosely,  Esq.,  another  valued  citizen,  also  fell  a  victim  to  Ihc 
same  disease,  together  with  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Cutler, 
a  girl  by  the  name  of  Goodale,  and  several  others. 

The  third  epidemic  visiting  the  town  was  that  fearful  disease 
known  by  the  name  of  /Spotted  Fever,  which,  to  the  general 
alarm  of  the  inhabitants,  suddenly  made  its  appearance  in  the 
village  in  the  winter  of  1811.  The  first  victim  was  Sibyl  Brown, 
a  bright  and  beautiful  daughter  of  Amasa  Brown,  of  the  age  of 
nine  years,  who,  on  Saturday,  January  2d,  was  in  school, — on 
the  evening  of  that  day  sliding  with  her  mates  on  the  ice, — and 
the  next  morning  a  corpse.  The  wife  of  Aaron  Griswold,  and 
the  first  wife  of  Jonathan  Shepard  were  next,  and  as  suddenly 
destroyed  by  this  terrible  epidemic,  which  struck  and  swept  over 
the  village,  to  which  it  was  mostly  confined,  like  the  blast  of  the 
simoon,  and  was  gone.  There  were  over  seventy  cases  in  this 
village,  and,  strange  to  tell,  but  three  deaths  of  the  disease, 
which,  at  the  same  time,  was  nearly  decimating  the  then  four 
hundred  inhabitants  of  Moretown,  and  sweeping  off  sixty  or 
seventy  of  the  two  thousand  inhabitants  of  Woodstock.  The 
chief  remedy  relied  on  here,  was  the  prompt  use  of  the  hot  bath, 
made  of  a  hasty  decoction  of  hemlock  boughs ;  and  the  pine 
board  bathing  vessel,  made  in  the  shape  of  a  coffin,  was  daily 
seen,  during  the  height  of  the  disease,  in  the  streets,  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  men,  rapidly  moving  from  house  to  house,  to 
serve  in  turn  the  multiplying  victims.  So  stange  and  unexpected 
were  the  attacks,  and  so  sudden  and  terrible  were  often  the  fatal 
terminations  of  the  disease,  that  it  was  likened  to  the  Plague  of 
the  Old  World.  Some  of  its  types,  indeed,  so  closely  resembled 
the  Plague,  as  well  to  justify  men  in  deeming  them  one  and  the 
same  disorder.  A  bright  red  spot,  attended  with  acute  pain  in 
some  instances,  appeared  in  one  of  the  limbs  of  the  unwarned 
victim,  and,  like  the  old  Plague  spot,  spread,  struck  to  the  vitals 
and  caused  his  death  in  a  few  hours.  In  other  instances,  a  sort 
of  congestion  of  the  blood,  or  silent  paralysis  of  all  the  func 
tions  of  life,  stole  unawares  over  the  system  of  the  patient,  his 

13 


98  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELTER. 

pulse  faltered  and  nearly  stopped,  even  before  he  dreamed  of 
the  approach  of  the  insiduous  destroyer.  The  late  worthy  Dr. 
James  Spalding  once  told  us,  that  he  was  the  student  of  an 
eminent  physician,  in  Alstead,  N.  H.,  when  the  epidemic  visited 
that  place,  that  he  frequently  went  the  rounds  with  his  instruc 
tor  in  his  visits  to  his  patients,  and  that  on  one  of  these  occa 
sions  they  made  a  friendly  call  on  a  family  in  supposed  good 
health,  when  the  master  of  the  house  congratulated  himself  on 
the  prospect  that  he  and  his  young  family  were  about  to  escape 
the  disease  which  had  been  cutting  down  so  many  others.  Some 
thing,  however,  in  the  appearance  of  one  or  two  of  the  apparently 
healthy  group  of  children  present  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
old  Doctor,  he  fell  to  examining  their  pulses,  when  in  two  of 
them  he  found  the  pulse  so  feeble  as  to  be  scarcely  perceptible  ; 
but  keeping  his  apprehensions  to  himself,  he  made  some  general 
prescriptions  for  all  the  children  and  left,  hoping  his  fears  would 
not  be  realized.  Within  three  days  both  of  those  children  were 
buried  in  one  grave.  The  Physicians  who  had  charge  of  these 
cases  were  Dr.  Lamb,  Dr.  N.  B.  Spalding,  Dr.  Woodbury,  and 
Dr.  Lewis  of  Moretown.  Volumes  have  been  written  on  the 
causes  of  this  and  similar  epidemics,  and  yet  to  this  day  the  sub 
ject  is  involved  in  clouds  of  mystery.  We  have  long  believed 
that  the  causes  of  this  and  other  like  epidemics  are  to  be  looked 
for  in  the  occasional  disturbed  condition  of  the  electric  iluid, 
that  universal  agent  of  the  air,  the  earth  and  the  water,  whicli 
is  now  known  to  be  intimately  connected  with  all  the  organiza 
tions  of  the  vegetable  and  animal  creations,  arid  its  presence 
indispensable  to  the  growth  and  health  of  both.  We  will  suppose, 
then,  a  sudden  cessation  of  the  natural  pervasion  of  this  quick 
ening  and  all-important  fluid,  in  given  localities,  and  ask  what 
would  be  the  probable  consequences  on  the  human  system,  where 
its  effects  would  be  most  likely  to  be  visible  ?  What  more  prob 
able  than,  in  the  results  manifested  in  the  epidemics  whicli  we 
have  had  under  consideration,  this  disturbance,  or  suspension  of 
the  fluid,  intensifying,  or  modifying  and  giving  character  to  the 
disease  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  it  may  happen  to 
exist. 

The  fourth  epidemic  in  town  followed  soon  after  the  last,  and 
in  some  instances,  assumed  some  of  its  peculiar  types.  This  oc 
curred  in  the  winter  of  1813,  and  was  here  generally  called  the 
Typhus  Fever,  though  it  partook  more  of  the  characteristics  of 
Peripneumony,  or  Lung  Fever,  being  the  same  disease  which  first 
broke  out,  the  fall  before,  among  the  U.  S.  troops  at  Burlington, 
and  by  the  following  mid-winter  had  become  a  destructive  epi 
demic  in  nearly  every  town  in  the  State,  carrying  off,  according 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  99 

to  the  statistics  of  Dr.  Gallup,  more  than  six  thousand  persons, 
or  one  to  every  forty  of  its  whole  population.  In  this  whole 
town,  during  the  year  1813,  the  number  of  deaths — most  of  which 
were  of  this  disease — was  seventy-eight,  among  which  were  those 
of  Capt.  N.  Doty,  R.  Wakefield,  C.  Hamblin  and  others,  in  the 
prime  of  life.  This  great  number  of  deaths  in  one  year  was, 
beyond  all  comparison,  greater  than  ever  occurred  before,  or  has 
ever  occurred  since,  it  is  believed,  in  proportion  to  the  popula 
tion,  which  was  then  about  two  thousand  ;  while  the  average 
number  of  deaths  in  town  per  year,  about  that  period,  was,  as 
near  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  but  a  little  over  twenty,  and  of 
course  but  little  more  than  one  death  in  one  hundred.  In  the 
village,  according  to  records  left  by  the  Rev.  Chester  Wright, 
the  average  number  of  deaths  for  the  five  years  preceding  1813 
was  but  four  per  year,  which  must  have  been  considerably  less 
than  one  to  one  hundred  yearly.  This  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
another  record  left  by  Mr.  Wright,  of  the  number  of  deaths  oc 
curring  each  year  in  the  village  for  the  fourteen  years  succeeding 
1816,  by  which  it  appears  that  the  average  number  of  deaths  in 
the  village,  during  that  whole  period,  was  but  ten  yearly,  while 
the  population  during  the  last  named  period  increased  from  nearly 
one  thousand  in  1816  to  nearly  two  thousand  in  1830 ;  so  that 
the  rate  of  mortality  during  the  whole  nineteen  years,  of  which 
we  have  given  the  approximate  statistics,  was,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  1814,  always  greatly  less  than  one  to  every  one  hundred 
inhabitants:  all  going  to  confirm  what  we  have  before  stated 
respecting  the  peculiar  healthiness  of  the  location  of  our  town, 
and  especially  of  our  village,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  pres 
ent  day. 

PREACHING  OF  THE  GOSPEL,  &c. 

The  first  stated  preaching  in  town  was  by  the  Reverend  Clark 
Brown,  who  came  from  Brirnfield,  Mass.,  where  he  had  been  pre 
viously  settled  and  dismissed.  He  was  hired  in  1805,  in  accor 
dance  with  a  vote  of  the  town,  to  preach  one  year  for  a  stipulated 
salary,  amounting  to  about  five  dollars  a  Sunday  for  every  Sun 
day  through  the  year,  with  what  he  could  pick  up  in  perquisites 
from  marriages  and  extra  sermons.  But  he  did  not  officiate  in 
that  capacity,  it  would  appear,  much  more  than  half  the  period 
for  which  he  had  been  hired ;  for,  owing  to  the  little  faith  felt  in 
his  piety  on  the  part  of  some,  disagreement  with  some  of  his 
doctrines,  which  favored  Unitarianism,  on  the  part  of  others, 
and  the  little  interest  felt  on  the  subject  on  the  part  of  more, 
probably,  his  audiencies  so  dwindled  away  by  the  end  of  six 
months  that  he  thought  to  arouse  them  by  preaching  them  a 


100  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

pointed  sermon  on  their  neglect  of  religious  duty.  This  how 
ever  only  made  the  matter  the  worse  for  him  ;  for  the  offence  thus 
given,  together  with  the  already  existing  causes  of  disaffection, 
led  his  employees  to  meet  and  decide  to  pay  him  up  for  his  whole 
year,  but  to  wholly  dispense  with  his  further  services  as  a  preach 
er.  Brown  was  a  man  of  good  education,  some  literary  taste 
and  quite  respectable  talents,  but  not  much  of  a  man,  nor  prob 
ably  much  of  a  Christian.  So,  at  least,  must  have  thought  his 
employers,  since  they  would  have  no  more  of  his  preaching, 
though  they  could  have  had  it,  the  next  six  months  at  least,  for 
what  they  had  already  paid  him,  for  he  continued  to  remain  in 
town  ;  and  the  next  year,  1806,  started  a  weekly  journal — the 
first  newspaper  ever  published  in  town — called  the  Vermont 
Precursor,  published  it  one  year  and  sold  out  to  Samuel  Goss, 
who  rechristened  it  the  Vermont  Watchman,  and  made  it  the 
foundation  of  the  prominent  political  journal  which  has  ever  since 
gone  by  that  name.  Brown  afterwards  went  west  and  died  ;  but 
his  wife,  the  better  man  of  the  two,  pushed  on  further  west  with 
her  children,  till  she  reached  Oregon  at  last,  opened  a  school, 
which  finally  grew  into  the  first  college  of  that  country,  under 
Sydney  Marsh,  President. 

For  the  next  year  or  two  after  the  dismissal  of  Mr.  Brown 
there  was  no  stated  preaching  in  town.  Sometime  in  1807,  how 
ever,  a  preacher  by  the  name  of  Hovey  was  employed,  but  left 
the  same  year. 

In  1808,  on  the  12th  of  April,  eighty-three  of  the  leading  cit 
izens  of  the  village  organized  themselves  into  a  religious  society, 
under  the  name  of  the  "  First  Congregational  Society  in  Mont- 
pelier"  for  the  maintenance  of  regular  preaching.  And  in  the 
July  following  a  Congregational  Church  was  organized,  consist 
ing  of  Amasa  Brown  and  wife,  Sylvanus  Baldwin,  Andrew 
Dodge,  H.  Estabrooks,  Samuel  Goss,  Timothy  Hatch  and  wife, 
Joseph  Howes  and  wife,  Solomon  Lewis  and  wife,  Mrs.  B.  Bur- 
bank,  Lydia  Davis,  Polly  Baker,  Rebecca  Persons  and  Sarah 
Wiggins.  About  the  same  time  the  Rev.  Chester  Wright  was 
employed  as  a  stated  preacher,  and  continued  acceptably  to  act 
as  such  until  August  16, 1809,  when  he  was  ordained  and  per 
manently  settled  as  pastor  of  the  church  and  society,  at  a  salary 
of  $350  for  the  first  year,  $375  for  the  second,  and  $400  per 
year  thereafter,  with  the  use  of  a  parsonage.  From  this  time 
Mr.  Wright  continued  the  able  and  devoted  preacher  and  pastor 
of  his  people  until  the  close  of  the  year  1830,  when,  for  causes 
involving  not  one  single  stain  on  his  character  as  a  preacher,  as 
a  Christian  or  as  a  man,  he  was  dismissed.  The  next  succeeding 
settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins,  ordained  October 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  101 

26,  1831,  and  dismissed  April  29,  1835.  The  next  was  Rev. 
Buel  W.  Smith,  ordained  August  25,  1836,  and  dismissed  July 
15,  18-10  ;  the  next  Rev.  John  Gridley,  installed  December  15, 
1811,  and  dismissed  December  9,  1846  ;  and  the  next,  and  last 
to  the  present  writing,  the  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Lord,  ordained  Septem 
ber  21,  1847.  The  number  admitted  into  the  church  during 
all  this  time  were  : — under  Mr.  Wright  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight ;  under  Mr.  Hopkins  forty-eight ;  under  temporary  preach 
ers,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  ;  under  Mr.  Smith,  eighty-two ; 
under  Mr.  Gri'dley,  forty-six  ;  and  under  Mr.  Lord,  two  hundred : 
who,  with  the  seventeen  original  members,  make  the  aggregate 
of  nine  hundred  and  fifty-eight. 

In  the  year  1 835  a  new  church,  called  the  Free  Church,  was 
formed,  mostly  from  seceders  from  the  old  church,  a  meeting 
house  built,  and  the  Rev.  Sherman  Kellogg  settled.  But  this 
society  kept  up  its  organization  but  about  four  years,  when  the 
members  either  returned  to  the  old  church  or  united  with  the 
Methodists. 

The  present  brick  meeting  house  of  the  Congregationalists  was 
built  by  the  society  in  1820,  under  the  contract  and  superinten 
dence  of  Deacon  Sylvanus  Baldwin,  at  a  cost  of  about  $8000. 

A  Methodist  Church  or  Class,  was  formed  in  town  even  as 
early  as  1795,  and  continued  to  hold  meetings  in  different  places, 
under  the  occasional  preaching  supplied  from  the  adjoining  Cir 
cuits.  In  the  years  1825-6,  a  meeting  house  was  built  at  Mont- 
pclier  Centre.  In  1828,  the  Montpelier  Society  was  set  off  to 
the  Barre  Circuit  and  preachers  from  that  Circuit  thenceforward 
regularly  were  supplied  to  this  Society,  which  held  its  meetings, 
for  a  considerable  period,  alternately  in  the  Centre  Meeting 
House  and  the  Old  State  House  in  the  village.  But  in  1837  the 
Methodist  Chapel  was  erected  in  the  village  and  the  meetings  no 
longer  alternated,  but  the  Society  mostly  then  worshiped  in  the 
Chapel,  the  Centre  Meeting  House  being  left  for  the  occupation 
of  transient  preachers.  The  Rev.  J.  G.  Dow  was  the  first 
preacher  appointed  to  this  station,  though  the  Rev.  Mr.  Snecth- 
ing  had  been  sent  here  previous  to  the  transfer  of  the  Society  to 
the  Barre  District.  Since  then  the  succeeding  preachers, 
embracing  a  long  list  of  faithful  and  laborious  Christian  minis 
ters,  have  generally  been  changed  once  in  two  years. 

7he  Friends,  or  Quakers  as  they  are  generally  called,  organ 
ized  themselves  into  a  Society  for  meetings  in  1803,  and  soon 
built  a  meeting  house  in  the  east  part  of  the  town,  at  which, 
though  few  in  number,  they  have  ever  since  continued  to  meet  for 
worship.  Of  this  Society  the  late  worthy  Clark  Stevens  was, 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death  a  few  years  ago,  the  leading  and  most 
unfluential  member. 


102  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

The  Univcrsalists  have  had  three  Societies  in  town, — one 
formed  in  the  village  in  1831 ;  one  at  the  Center,  previously 
formed ;  and  one  at  the  East  village,  formed  subsequently,  but 
much  the  largest  of  the  three,  and  proprietors  of  the  respectable 
meeting  house  they  there  soon  erected  for  their  use. 

The  Episcopal  Church  Was  organized  in  this  village  in  1842, 
and  the  present  neat  church  edifice  erected.  The  Rev.  George 
B.  Manser  was  the  first  Rector,  who  was  succeeded  in  a  few 
years  by  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Shelton,  who  officiated  one  or  two 
years,  and  was  succeeded  in  turn  by  the  Rev.  Edward  F.  Put 
nam,  who  remained  till  a  few  months  before  his  death  in  1854  ; 
when  Mr.  Shelton  was  again  engaged  and  settled,  and  remains 
the  Rector  at  the  present  time.  This  Society,  though  smaller 
than  the  Congregationalist,  is  yet  respectable  in  numbers,  and  em 
braces  a  large  proportion  of  our  best  and  most  influential  citi 
zens. 

There  was  a  Freewill  Baptist  Church  organized  in  town  in 
1830,  and  the  Rev.  Ziba  Young  was,  about  1840,  for  one  year  or 
more,  its  pastor.  This  arose  perhaps  from  the  seed  planted 
by  Uncle  Ziba  Wood  worth.  But  as  the  followers  were  too  few  and 
limited  in  means  to  support  preaching  for  any  considerable  time, 
the  Society  did  not  long  keep  up  any  living  organization. 

Having  thus,  at  considerable  length,  given  the  ecclesiastical 
history  of  the  town,  we  will  now  turn  to  other  subjects. 

NEWSPAPERS  AND  OTHER  SERIALS. 

As  we  have  already  incidentally  mentioned,  The  Vermont 
Precursor  was  the  first  Aveekly  journal  ever  published  in  Mont- 
pclier  ;  and,  as  it  has  also  been  stated,  this  paper,  by  transfer 
from  its  publisher,  Clark  Brown,  to  Samuel  Goss,  was,  in  1807, 
merged  in  the  Vermont  Watchman.  In  October,  1810,  the 
Watchman  was  again  transferred  to  Ezekiel  P.  Walton  and 
Mark  Goss,  and  by  them  published  until  the  year  1816,  when  it 
became  the  sole  property  of  Mr.  Walton,  and  was  published  by 
him,  or  by  him  and  his  sons,  under  the  name  of  the  Vermont 
Watchman  and  State  Journal,  till  1853.  It  then  became  the 
sole  property  of  Eliakim  Persons  Walton,  who  still  continues  the 
editor  and  proprietor. 

In  addition  to  the  Watchman,  the  Waltons,  father  and  son 
successively,  have  published,  every  year  since  1817,  the  now  well 
known  and  valuable  statistical  serial  and  calendar  entitled  Wal 
ton's  Vermont  Register  and  Farmers'  Almanac,  which,  Irom  the 
mass  of  information  it  furnishes  and  its  general  accuracy,  has 
assumed  a  sort  of  official  character,  and,  among  business  men, 
become  an  almost  indispensible  work  in  every  part  of  the  State. 


HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER.  103 

The  numbers  published  have  been  for  many  years  steadily  in 
creasing  till  the  present  time,  when  twelve  thousand  copies  are 
annually  printed  and  sold. 

The  Freeman's  Press,  of  Democratic,  in  contradistinction  to 
Federal  politics,  which  were  then  those  of  the  Watchman,  was 
established  in  1812  or  1813,  by  Derrick  Sibley,  who  was  soon 
joined  by  Sereno  Wright  in  the  publication,  which  was  continued 
by  the  two  till  about  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  it  was 
discontinued. 

In  1826,  George  W.  Hill,  by  the  aid  of  his  brother,  the  noted 
Isaac  Hill  of  New  Hampshire,  established  the  Vermont  Patriot,  and 
continued  to  publish  the  same  about  a  dozen  years,  when  he  sold 
to  Wm.  Clark,  who,  in  about  two  years,  sold  to  J.  T.  Marston,  Es<j ., 
who,  after  carrying  it  on  about  a  half-dozen  years,  sold  out  in  turn 
to  Eastman  <fe  Danforth,  arid  the  latter  going  out  of  the  firm  in 
1851,  it  has  ever  since  continued  to  be  published  under  the  sole 
management  of  Charles  G.  Eastman,  the  present  editor  and  pro 
prietor. 

The  State  Journal,  an  Anti-Masonic  paper,  was  commenced 
here  in  1830,  by  Knapp  &  Jewett,  and  continued  by  them  till 
1836,  when  the  establishment  became  merged  in  the  Vermont 
Watchman. 

The  Voice  of  Freedom  was  commenced  here  by  C.  L.  Knapp, 
and  continued  until  1842,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Anti-Slavery  Society,  and  finally  led  to  the  establishment  of 

Ike  Green  Mountain  Freeman,  in  1843,  by  Joseph  Poland, 
who  continued  the  publication  of  the  same,  as  the  organ  of  the 
Liberty  and  Freesoil  parties,  till  1849,  when  he  sold  out  to 
Jacob  Scott  and  D.  P.  Thompson,  the  latter  of  whom  after  one 
year  assumed  the  proprietorship  of  the  paper,  published  it  till 
1856,  and  then  sold  it  to  S.  S.  Boyce,  the  present  proprietor. 

The  UniversaUst  Watchman,  first  published  at  Woodstock  and 
then,  we  think,  at  Lebanon,  N.  H.,  was  removed  to  Montpelier 
in  about  the  year  1836,  and  its  publication  continued  by  the  Rev. 
EH  Ballou,  who  after  some  years  changed  the  name  to  the 
Christian  Repository,  under  which  it  is  still  published  by  Bal 
lou,  Loveland  &  Co. 

The  Green  Mountain  Emporium,,  a  religious  monthly,  was 
commenced  here  in  1838,  by  J.  M.  Stearns,  published  about  one 
year,  and  removed  to  Middlebury. 

The  Temperance  Star  was  commenced  here  in  1841,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  State  Temperance  Society  and  the  editorial  care 
of  George  B.  Manser,  published  about  two  years,  and  gave  place 
to  another  Temperance  and  Moral  Reform  paper,  entitled 
The  Reformed  Drunkard,  and  published  by  F.  A.  McDowell. 


104  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

This  also,  after  taking  the  name  of  Reformer,  was  in  a  year  or 
two  discontinued. 

THE  TOWN  MADE  THE  SEAT  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  year  1805  was  made  to  constitute  an  important  era  in  the 
history  of  Montpelier.  During  the  October  session  of  the  Legis 
lature  of  that  year,  holden  at  Danville,  the  following  act  wa? 
passed : — 

"  AN  ACT  ESTABLISHING   THE   PERMANENT    SEAT    OF   THE   LEGISLA 
TURE   AT   MONTPELIER. 

u  SEC.  1.  //  is  hereby  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State  of  Vermont,  That  Elijah  Paine,  Ezra  Butler  and  James 
Whitelaw  be,  and  they  are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  to  fix 
upon  a  place,  in  the  town  of  Montpelier,  for  the  erection  of 
buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State, 
and  to  prepare  a  plan  for  such  buildings. 

"  SEC.  2.  And  it  is  hereby  further  enacted,  That  if  the  town 
of  Montpelier,  or  other  individual  persons,  shall,  before  the  1st 
day  of  September,  which  will  be  A.  D.  1808,  erect  such  build 
ings  on  the  place  designated  by  the  aforesaid  committee,  to  their 
acceptance,  and  shall  compensate  said  committee  for  their  serv 
ices,  and  also  convey  to  the  State  of  Vermont  the  property  of 
said  buildings  and  the  land  whereon  they  shall  stand,  and  lodge 
the  deed  of  conveyance  duly  executed,  in  the  Secretary  of 
State's  office  ;  then  and  in  that  case  said  buildings  shall  become 
the  permanent  seat  of  the  Legislature  for  holding  all  their  ses 
sions. 

"  SEC.  3.  Provided  nevertheless,  and  it  is  hereby  further  enact 
ed,  That  if  any  further  Legislature  shall  cease  to  hold  their 
sessions  in  said  town  of  Montpelier,  those  persons  who  shall  erect 
said  buildings,  and  convey  the  property  of  the  same,  and  of  the 
land  aforesaid,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  Treasury  of 
this  State  the  full  value  of  the  same,  as  it  shall  be  then  fairly 
appraised. 

"  Passed  November  7, 1808. 
"  A  true  copy, 

"Attest,      DAVID  WING,  JUN.,  Secretary." 

In  pursuance  of  this  act,  the  committee  therein  designated 
fixed  upon,  as  the  location  of  the  State  House,  almost  precssely 
the  place  which  Colonel  Davis,  in  his  far-sighted  calculations, 
had  years  before  prophetically  pointed  out  in  his  meadow  as  the 
site  of  the  future  Capitol  of  the  State.  The  exact  place  thus 
fixed  on  by  the  committee  was  about  twelve  rods  north-east  of 
State  Street,  and  just  about  the  same  distance  west  of  the  back 


HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER.  105 

end  of  the  Pavilion  Hotel,  which  brought  it  within  a  few  rods  of 
the  hill  as  then  shaped,  and  mostly  within  the  State  House  yard 
as  now  laid  out.  On  this  spot,  the  necessary  funds  being  raised 
by  citizens  of  Montpelier  and  vicinity  by  individual  subscription, 
and  the  necessary  land  given  and  deeded  by  Thomas  Davis,  a 
State  building  of  wood,  fifty  by  seventy  feet  on  the  ground,  thir 
ty-six  feet  high  to  the  roof,  septangular  shaped  in  front,  but 
square  on  the  sides  and  rear  end,  was,  during  the  years  1806 
and  1807,  erected  and  finished  for  the  occupancy  of  the  Legis 
lature  for  their  October  session  1808. 

The  act  locating  the  seat  of  government  here  was  not  obtained 
without  some  struggle  among  the  rival  towns  contending  for  the 
honor  and  the  advantage.  The  Hon.  Cyrus  Ware  was  the  Rep 
resentative  of  Montpelier  that  year,  while  the  Hon.  David  Wing, 
Jr.,  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  of  course  in  attendance  on  the 
Legislature.  And  these  two,  one  by  his  shrewd  management, 
arid  the  other  by  the  exercise  of  his  great  and  justly  acquired  in 
fluence,  appear  to  have  presented  the  merits  of  their  case  with 
such  good  advantage  as  to  have  secured  an  easy  victory.  Some 
attempts,  indeed,  were  made  at  the  two  succeeding  sessions  of 
1806  and  1807,  held  at  Middlebury  and  Woodstock,  to  effect  a 
change  of  the  location ;  but  they  were  unsuccessful.  And  the 
Legislature,  for  the  first  time,  assembled  in  their  new  State 
House  in  Montpelier  for  the  October  session  of  1808. 

On  the  8th  of  November,  1832,  the  old  State  House  having 
been  found  inconvenient,  and  dilapidated  at  that,  the  Legislature, 
after  another  struggle  among  the  contesting  towns,  passed  a  sec 
ond  act  re-establishing  the  seat  of  government  at  Montpelier,  on 
the  condition  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  by  the  first  day 
of  January  following,  pay  into  the  Treasury  of  the  State  the 
sum  of  $15,000 — one  half  to  be  paid  in  one  year,  and  the  other 
half  in  two  years  from  the  passage  of  said  act.  And  the  citi 
zens  of  Montpelier  having  given  acceptable  bonds  for  the  fulfill 
ment  of  the  condition,  and  having  further  paid  $3000  for  suitable 
grounds  round  the  location  again  selected,  by  Samuel  C.  Crafts, 
Allen  Wardner  and  George  T.  Hodges,  the  committee  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  Ammi  B.  Young  was  appointed  Architect  and 
Lebbeus  Egerton  Superintendent  of  the  building  of  the  new  State 
House,  and  the  work  put  in  train  early  the  following  spring.  To 
obtain  a  sure  foundation,  a  high,  rocky  spur  of  the  hill,  about  a 
dozen  rods  north-west  of  the  old  site,  was,  by  the  advice  of  the 
Architect,  blasted  down,  and  at  an  expense  of  about  f  10,000, 
till  a  level  area  was  obtained  broad  enough  to  receive  the  walls 
of  the  whole  buildings,  which  became  thus  founded  on  a  contin 
uous  solid  rock.  And  the  granite  structure  then  arising  thereon. 

14 


106  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIEU. 

the  particular  description  of  whicli  has  beeii  too  widely  spread 
before  the  public  to  need  repetition  here,  was  sufficiently  com 
pleted  to  be  used  by  the  Legislature  at  their  October  session, 
1836,  at  a  cost,  then  and  subsequently  incurred  about  the  grounds, 
of  $182,077  23  in  the  whole.  This  neat  and  durable  edifice,  whose 
plan  and  construction  reflected  great  credit  on  the  Architect, 
stood  till  the  5th  of  January,  1857,  when  it  accidentally  took 
tire,  and  all  but  its  bare  walls  was  destroyed. 

At  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature,  called  for  the  purpose, 
and  assembled  on  the  18th  of  February,  1857,  an  appropriation, 
after  a  third  keen  contest  among  rival  claimants  for  the  location, 
of  $40,000  was  voted  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  State  House  on 
the  old  site  in  Montpelier  :  "  Provided  the  inhabitants  of  Mont- 
pelier,  or  any  individuals,  shall,  before  the  rising  of  this  Legis 
lature,  give  good  and  sufficient  security  to  the  Treasurer  of  this 
State  to  pay  into  the  Treasury  of  the  State  a  sum  equal  to  the 
whole  cost  of  the  work  mentioned  in  the  first  section  of  this 
act — one  half  of  said  sum  to  be  paid  in  one  year,  and  the  re 
mainder  in  two  years  from  the  passage  of  this  act,  or  on  the 
completion  of  the  work." 

In  compliance  with  the  conditions  of  this  act,  a  bond  was  exe- 
cnted  on  the  27th  day  of  February,  1857,  and  before  the  session 
closed,  by  E.  P.  Jewett,  G.  W.  Collamer  and  Erastus  Hubbard, 
in  the  penal  sum  of  $100,000,  conditioned  as  provided  by  the; 
act.  And  the  Governor  thereupon  appointed  Dr.  Thomas  E. 
Powers  Superintendent  of  the  building  or  rebuilding  of  the 
house,  and  George  P.  Marsh  of  Burlington,  Norman  Williams  of 
Woodstock,  and  John  Porter  of  Hartford,  Commissioners  to 
draw  plans  and  decide  whether  the  House  should  be  wholly  re 
built  or  the  old  walls  taken  as  a  part.  The  Commissioners 
decided  not  only  to  rebuild  wholly,  but  to  enlarge  and  improve 
the  structure  by  lengthening  both  the  main  building  and  the 
wings,  and  adopting  new  plans  for  the  dome  and  internal  ar 
rangements.  And  all  this  being  settled,  the  work  was  vigorously 
prosecuted  during  the  working  seasons  of  1857,  1858  and  1859, 
so  that  it  was  sufficiently  finished  for  the  occupancy  of  the  Leg 
islature  at  their  October  session  for  1859.  The  Legislature  for 
1858  having  failed  to  make  any  further  appropriation,  the  work 
was  carried  forward,  during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1859,  on 
funds  advanced  by  the  citizens  of  Montpelier,  who,  however, 
were  thenceforward  relieved  from  further  expenditures  by  an 
appropriation  by  the  Legislature  of  1859  of  $34,000,  to  pay  for 
the  furniture  of  the  House  already  purchased,  and  liquidate 
sundry  outstanding  debts  arising  in  the  course  of  the  .construc 
tion,  And  how  far  the  money  furnished  by  the  citizens  of  Mont 


HISTORY   OF   MOMPELIER.  10T 

pelier  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  will  be  refunded  by  the 
iState  is  a  question  which,  at  the  present  writing,  (January. 
I860,)  remains  undecided. 

MOXTPEL1ER  MADE  THE  SHIRE  TOWN  OF  A  NEW  COUNTY. 

On  the  first  of  November,  1810,  the  Legislature  incorporated 
a  new  County,  taken  from  the  south-easterly  part  of  Chittenden, 
the  south-westerly  part  of  Caledonia,  and  the  north-westerly  part 
of  Orange  Counties.  To  this  new  County,  after  some  contro 
versy  among  the  interested  members  of  the  different  political 
parties,  the  Legislature,  in  which  the  Democrats  that  year  pre 
dominated,  gave  the  name  of  Jefferson.  This  name,  in  the 
session  of  1814,  when  the  Federals  had  again  obtained  the 
ascendency,  was  altered  to  that  of  Washington,  the  name  which 
it  has  ever  since  borne, — the  Democrats,  who  the  next  year  re 
covered  their  power,  showing  the  better  wisdom  by  acquiescing 
in  the  change,  instead  of  following  the  example  of  their  prede 
cessors  and  opponents.  The  new  County  was  organized  Oec.  1 , 
1811,  the  Legislature  of  the  preceding  October  having  elected 
the  Court  and  County  Officers,  consisting  of  Ezra  Butler,  Chief 
Judge,  and  Salvin  Collins  and  Bradford  Kinne,  Assistants  ;  John 
Teck,  Sheriff;  Timothy  Merrill,  State's  Attorney;  and  David 
Harrington,  Judge  of  Probate.  When  the  County  was  thus  or 
ganized,  George  Rich  was  appointed  County  Clerk,  and  Joshua 
V.  Vail  Register  of  Probate.  The  above  named  members  of 
the  Court  all  held  their  offices  two  years,  when  Charles  Bulkley 
was  elected  Chief  Judge,  in  place  of  Ezra  Butler ;  Seth  Putnam 
Assistant,  in  place  of  Salvin  Collins ;  Chapin  Keith  Sheriff,  instead 
of  John  Peck ;  Nicholas  Baylies  State's  Attorney  instead  of 
Timothy  Merrill ;  and  Abel  Knapp  Judge  of  Probate,  instead  of 
David  Harrington. 

The  Court  held  its  sessions  in  the  Council  Chamber  in  the  first 
State  House  until  the  year  1818,  when  a  new  wooden  Court 
House  was  erected  on  the  west  side  of  the  State  House  grounds, 
in  a  line  with  the  State  House.  And  this  Court  House  continued 
to  be  used  as  such  till  the  year  1843,  when  a  new,  but  rather 
cheap  and  unsatisfactory  brick  Court  House  was  erected,  a  little 
back  from  the  corner  where  the  present  one  stands  ;  but  it  caught 
tire  and  was  burned  during  the  November  term  of  the  Court  of 
the  same  year.  And  in  the  summer  of  1844  the  present  com 
modious  brick  Court  House  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of  about 
§14,000.  To  the  last  the  citizens  subscribed  a  handsome  sum, 
to  make  the  building  what  they  believed  it  should  be,  but  what 
the  tax  raised  by  the  County  for  the  purpose  would  be,  they 
thought,  insufficient  to  make  it. 


108  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

The  first  Court  House  was  built  by  money  raised  from  a  Coun 
ty  tax  ;  but  for  the  jail,  the  County  was  indebted  to  the  liberality 
of  the  citizens  of  Montpelier.  In  the  first  place,  the  old  Jail 
House,  which  was  the  former  dwelling-house  of  Colonel  Davis, 
was  given  to  the  County  outright  by  his  son,  Thomas  Davis,  and 
the  jail  or  dungeon  placed  within  it,  which  was  constructed  of 
common,  heavy  stone,  covered  with  broad,  long,  flat  rocks,  was 
built  by  private  subscription.  The  County,  however,  at  its  own 
expense,  rebuilt  the  Jail  of  granite  in  1832,  under  the  supervision 
of  Captain  Timothy  Hubbard  ;  and  about  the  same  time  gener 
ously  gave  back  one-half  the  Jail  House  to  Thomas  Davis,  who, 
in  the  interim,  had  become  a  man  of  reduced  circumstances. 
And  still  further  to  show  their  good  faith  in  the  return  gift  of 
1842,  the  County,  on  erecting  the  present  fine  brick  and  granite 
Jail  House  and  Jail  in  1857,  fully  paid  Mr.  Davis  for  his  half  of 
the  house. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

INCREASE  OF  THE  VILLAGE  IMMEDIATELY  SUBSEQUENT   TO  THE  LOCA 
TION  OF  THE  STATE  HOUSE.  —  OPENING  OF   STATE  STREET.  —  CEL 
EBRATION  OF  THE  FOURTH  OF    JULY.  —  FIRST    ELECTION    DAY.  - 
GREAT  WAR  MEETING  OF  1812. 

Montpelier,  the  village  favored  with  the  location  of  the  State 
House,  and  which  thus  received  a  new  impulse,  began  to  move  on 
apace  in  the  increase  of  its  population  and  the  importance  of  its 
improvements.  The  building  of  the  State  House,  of  itself, 
brought  quite  an  addition  to  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  and 
the  influx  of  those  who  now  came  here  to  settle  in  consequence 
of  the  place  being  made  the  Capital,  and  in  the  prospect  of  its 
becoming  one  of  the  most  important  towns  in  the  state,  together 
with  the  necessity  they  created  of  new  dwellings,  stores  and 
workshops,  added,  and  for  years  still  continued  to  add,  still 
far  more  to  its  population,  and  proportionally  to  increase  its 
thrift  and  business  activity.  New  streets  were  now  opened,  new 
bridges  over  the  streams  built,  and  new  houses,  stores  and  other 
buildings  everywhere  erected.  Well  does  the  writer  of  these 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  109 

pages  remember  the  appearance  of  the  village  the  first  time  he 
entered  it,  which  was  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1807.  State  street 
had  then  been  surveyed,  but  not  opened.  There  had  been  before 
one  bridge  across  the  Branch,  and  that  was  at  the  Union  House  ; 
but  even  that  had  been  carried  away,  we  think,  by  the  flood  of 
the  previous  spring.  At  all  events,  no  bridge  was  there  then. 
The  men  and  women  rode  through  the  stream  on  horses,  or  in 
carts  and  wagons,  and  we  boys  rolled  up  our  trowsers  over  our 
knees  and  waded  across,  not  one  in  ten  of  us  being  cumbered 
with  either  stockings  or  slices.  The  point  of  attraction  was  the 
new  State  House  grounds,  and  our  way  led  along  the  old  road 
down  the  river,  under  the  hill,  where  the  back  street  now  ex 
tends  from  the  Union  House  to  the  Catholic  Church.  All  on 
our  left,  after  passing  the  Colonel  Davis  establishment,  and  one 
or  two  small  houses  on  the  bank  to  the  east  of  it,  was  a  smooth, 
broad,  well-tilled  meadow,  covered  witli  waving  green  corn. 
Two  lines  of  stakes  running  east  and  west  could  be  traced 
through  the  midst  of  the  meadow. 

"  What  in  the  world  are  all  those  stakes  for,  setting  up  so 
straight  and  curious,  all  in  a  row  there?"  asked  one  of  the  older, 
out  of  town  boys.  "  Those  stakes  ?  Why  they  arc  to  show 
where  we  are  to  have  a  new  handsome  street  from  the  new  State 
House  right  across  the  Branch,  with  a  fine,  elegant  new  bridge," 
replied  a  village  Boy,  pricking  up  with  pride  at  the  thought. 

u  A  street !"  rejoined  the  other,  "  well,  I  wonder  where  they 
expect  to  find  houses  to  put  upon  it  ?  It  appears  to  me  you 
village  folks  are  trying  to  grow  grand  all  at  once.  When  you 
get  the  new  State  House  up  I  expect  we  shan't  be  able  to  touch 
you  with  a  rod  pole." 

This  natural  little  bout  of  words  among  the  boys  of  that  time, 
showed  two  things  better  than  a  page  of  elucidation; — first,  the 
extent  of  the  important  changes  and  improvements  in  contempla 
tion  for  the  village,  and  second  the  starting  points  of  the  simul 
taneous  growth  of  that  village  pride  and  country  jealousy,  which, 
probably,  are  ever  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  be  found, 
wherever  villages  exist,  to  crow  and  affect  superiority,  and  coun 
try  towns  to  build  up  and  sustain  them. 

When  we  reached  the  place  where  the  then  novelty  of  our 
national  jubilee  was  to  be  celebrated,  we  found  the  exercises  of 
the  day  were  to  be  performed  on  the  ground-work  of  the  new 
State  House,  the  foundation  walls  of  which  were  all  up,  the  sills 
and  flooring  timbers  framed  together,  and  roughly  floored  over, 
and  the  plates  and  some  other  of  the  heavy  upper  timbers 
ranged  round  the  borders  of  this  ground  frame-work.  Near  the 
centre  of  the  area  thus  formed,  was  erected  a  broad  platform, 


110  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

on  which  was  placed  a  table  and  several  chairs  for  the  orator  of 
the  day  and  those  who  assisted  in  the  usual  services ;  while 
around  it,  on  the  borders  of  the  whole  area,  were  erected  bushes 
or  rather  small  trees,  freshly  cut  and  brought  from  the  adjoin 
ing  woods  on  the  bill,  to  serve  for  shade  for  the  speaker  and 
the  audience.  The  oratar  was  Paul  Dean,  a  Universalist  minis 
ter,  who  resided  in  Boston,  but  who  about  that  time,  preached 
for  some  small  period,  in  different  parts  of  Montpelier. 

This  was  the  first  general  public  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of 
July  ever  held  in  Montpelier.  A  small  village  celebration  was 
however,  held  the  preceding  summer  in  a  booth,  built  in  the 
meadow  near  the  Davis'  Mills  on  the  Branch,  and  Dr.  Edward 
Lamb  wrote  and  delivered  the  oration.  A  few  weeks  after  the 
above  described  celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  1807,  the 
frame  of  the  State  House  was  raised  and  a  large  force  of  work 
men  put  in  requisition  to  cover  the  building  and  hasten  on  the 
work  towards  completion.  During  that  summer  also,  the  foun 
dation  and  brick  work  of  the  present  Pavilion  House,  were  built 
by  Thomas  Davis,  who  finished  it  previous  to  the  session  of  the 
Legislature  the  next  year,  and,  as  he  was  the  first  owner,  so  he 
was  the  first  landlord  of  that  ever  since  well  known  hotel.  In 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  State  Street  was  opened  and  worked 
through  its  whole  length,  as  now  located,  and  a  good  bridge 
built  over  the  Branch.  Early  the  next  Spring  the  work  on  the 
State  House  was  resumed  and  prosecuted  with  the  utmost  vigor. 
This  work  was  done  under  the  supervision  of  a  building  com 
mittee,  of  whom  the  leading  member  was  the  late  Captain  Eben- 
czcr  Morse,  who,  being  a  carpenter  by  trade,  personally  superin 
tended  the  whole  work.  A  head  carpenter  by  the  name  of  Tim 
othy  Pickering,  with  the  hands  under  him,  finished  the  outside 
of  the  building;  but  Sylvanus  Baldwin  was  the  head  workman 
of  all  the  interior  work,  having  with  him,  however,  an  efficient 
assistant  in  Sylvester  Churchill,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  now 
inspector  General  of  the  United  States  Army. 

During  this,  and  the  next  year,  several  buildings  for  dwelling- 
houses  and  shops  were  erected  on  State  Street,  on  the  part  west 
of  the  Branch,  and  still  more  on  the  part  on  the  east  side,  and 
on  Main  Street,  among  the  latter  of  which,  were  the  stores  and 
dwellings  thrown  up  for  the  occupancy  of  four  new  merchants  or 
firms — U.  H.  Orvis,  Dunbar  &  Bradford,  C.  W.  Houghton  and 
Josiah  Parks.  These,  in  the  two  succeeding  years,  were  follow 
ed  by  as  many  more,  together  with  various  mechanical  establish 
ments  in  different  parts  of  the  village. 

By  the  terms  of  the  act,  locating  the  seat  of  government  at 
Montpelier,  the  State  House  .was  to  be  completed  by  the  first  of 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER.  Ill 

September,  1808.  It  was  done  ;  and  great  were  the  prepara 
tions  made  among  the  villagers,  and  great  the  anticipations  rais 
ed  among  them  and  through  all  the  surrounding  community,  in 
view  of  the  advent  of  the  new  and  important  day  of  "  Election." 
Streets  were  cleared  of  lumber  and  rubbish,  side-walks  prepared 
of  plank  or  gravel,  houses  painted,  new  suits  of  clothes  purchas 
ed,  and  everything  made  to  assume  the  sprucest  appearance.  A 
fine  artillery  company  uniformed  throughout  with  plumed  Bona 
parte  hats  and  the  dress  of  field  officers  in  all  except  the  epau 
lette  on  the  privates,  was  organized  from  among  the  first  citizens 
of  this  and  the  neighboring  towns,  to  serve  as  the  Governor's 
Guard,  and  be  in  especial  attendance  on  Election  days.  Of  this 
company  Isaac  Putnam,  a  man  nearly  six-feet-six  high,  weighing 
over  two  hundred  pounds,  well  proportioned,  and  as  noble  in  soul 
as  in  body,  had  the  honor  of  being  chosen  the  first  captain,  and 
no  one  oi  those  present  now  living  can  fail  to  recall  his  fine  and 
commanding  military  appearance  on  those  occasions  as  he  stood 
up  between  his  soldiers  and  the  encircling  crowd,  like  Saul  among 
the  people.  An  iron  six-pounder  field  piece  had  been  procured  ; 
and  a  thrill  of  excitement  ran  through  the  excited  hearts  of  all 
the  boys  of  the  community  at  the  news,  that  when  the  election  of 
State  officers  was  declared  on  Election  day,  "  a  cannon,  a  great 
cannon,  was  to  be  fired  in  Montpelier  Hollow !" 

The  eventful  day  at  length  came,  and  with  it  two-thirds  of  the 
population  of  all  the  neighboring  country,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
around,  came  pouring  into  the  village.  But  instead  of  attempt 
ing  any  further  general  description  of  the  then  entire  novelties 
of  the  day  and  their  effect  on  the  multitude,  we  will,  at  the  risk 
of  the  imputation  of  losing  our  dignity  as  a  historian,  again  have 
recourse  to  the  reminiscences  of  our  boyhood.  We  were,  of 
course,  there  on  that  clay  among  the  throngs  of  excited  boys, 
congregated  from  all  quarters,  to  witness  the  various  sights  and 
performances  expected  on  that  important  occasion.  A  showy 
procession  had  been  formed  in  the  fore  part  of  the  day,  led  by 
the  military  in  all  the  marching  pomp  of  flying  colors  and  rattling 
drums,  arid  followed  by  the  State  officers,  members  of  the  Legis 
lature  and  a  concourse  of  citizens,  and  the  Election  Sermon  had 
been  preached  by  the  Reverend  Sylvanus  Haynes,  Pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  of  Middletown.  The  House  of  Representatives 
had  been  organized  by  the  election  of  Dudley  Chase,  Esq.,  of 
Randolph,  Speaker  ;  and  a  Canvassing  Committee  appointed  still 
earlier  in  the  day  and  put  to  work  in  counting  the  votes  for  State 
officers.  And  as  the  hour  of  sunset  approached,  and  as  there 
had  been  for  some  hours  no  public  demonstrations  to  be  witnessed, 
a  great  proportion  of  the  crowd  was  scattered  all  over  the  vil- 


112  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

lage.  We  and  a  lot  of  other  boys  were  standing  in  the  street 
somewhere  against  our  present  Court  House,  when,  sudden  as 
the  bursting  of  a  thunder  clap,  the  whole  village  shook  with  the 
explosion  of  the  cannon  on  the  State  House  common.  We  all 
instantly  ran  at  the  top  of  our  speed  for  the  spot.  When  we  had 
got  about  half  way  there,  we  met  a  gang  of  other  boys  from 
one  of  the  back  towns,  who,  taken  by  surprise  and  siezed  with 
panic  at  the  stunning  shock,  were  fleeing  for  their  lives  in  the 
opposite  direction  ;  but  gaining  a  little  assurance  from  seeing  us 
rushing  toward  the  scene  of  their  fright,  one,  braver  than  the 
rest,  stopped  short,  boldly  faced  about  and  exclaimed  "  Hoo  !  I 
an't  a  n'attom  afraid  !"  and  all  now  joining  in  the  race,  we  were, 
in  another  minute,  within  a  few  rods  of  the  smoking  gun,  which 
had  been  discharged  on  the  announcement  of  the  election  of 
Isaac  Tichenor  as  Governor.  The  next  moment  our  attention 
was  attracted  by  the  voice  of  Israel  P.  Dana,  sheriff  of  the 
county,  standing  on  the  upper  terrace  of  the  State  House,  and 
loudly  proclaiming — "  Hear  ye  !  hear  ye  !  hear  ye!  the  Honora 
ble  Paul  Brigham  has  been  elected  Lieutenant  Governor,  in  and 
over  the  State  of  Vermont,  by  the  suffrages  of  the  freemen. 
God  save  the  people  !"  Then  another  discharge  of  the  piece  sa 
luted  our  recoiling  ears  and  sent  its  sharp  echoes  from  side  to 
side  between  the  encircling  hills.  Then  came  the  announcement 
of  the  election  of  Benjamin  Swan  as  Treasurer,  followed  by  a  third 
gun ;  then  the  last  announcement  of  the  election  of  Councillors, 
followed  by  a  fourth  gun  ;  and  then,  without  further  official  an 
nouncements,  the  salute  of  guns  was  continued  till  one  for  each 
of  the  States  had  been  fired. 

Such  were  the  performances  on  the  first  Election  day  in  Mont- 
pelier,  and  such  the  interest  and  excitement  they  created  among 
the  multitude. 

As  there  were  but  three  hotels  in  the  village  at  that  time,  in 
cluding  the  large  new  brick  one  just  completed  by  Thomas  Davis, 
and  even  these  not  much  more  than  half  as  large  as  they  after 
wards  became,  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  boarded  in  private  families,  all  the  best  houses  be 
ing  opened  for  their  accommodation.  Only  about  two  dollars 
per  week  was  generally  charged  for  board,  though  no  pains  nor 
expense  was  spared  to  furnish  the  best  of  tables.  But  this  low 
rate  of  board  was  not  disproportional  when  compared  with 
other  prices.  The  pay  of  the  members  was  then,  we  think, 
but  one  dollar  per  day,  the  old  first  fee  bill  having  then  not 
been  altered.  And  yet  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  members 
did  not  then  generally  carry  home  more  money  with  them,  at 
the  end  of  the  session,  than  they  do  now  with  just  double  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELTER.  118 

amount  of  pay.  The  pay  of  the  officers  of  the  House  and  em 
ployees  of  the  Legislature  were  on  the  same  low  and  economical 
scale.  And  it  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  and  curiosity  to  com 
pare  the  various  expenses  of  the  Legislature  of  that  time  with 
those  of  the  present  day.  The  first  constable  of  the  town  was 
made  ex-officio  Door-Keeper,  who  for  his  dollar  per  day,  did  all 
the  waiting  upon  the  State  officers  and  members,  and,  with  one 
man,  styled  the  Overseer,  who  was  allowed  not  over  five  dollars 
per  session,  attended  to  the  heating,  lighting  and  sweeping  of 
the  State  House,  providing  everything,  and  performing  every 
thing,  then  required  to  be  done  about  the  Legislature,  the  whole 
expense  of  which,  over  the  daily  pay  of  the  Door  Keeper,  and 
the  pittance  allowed  such  Overseer  for  time  actually  spent,  not 
being  generally  over  thirty  dollars  per  session;  while  at  the 
present  day,  we  find,  in  place  of  these,  a  salaried  Sergeant-a(- 
Armn,  with  his  twelve  or  fifteen  sub-officers  and  assistants,  each 
receiving  two  dollars  per  day,  and  all  going  to  make  up  a  con 
tingent  expense  ior  each  Legislature  amounting  to  more  thou 
sands  of  dollars  than  it  then  amounted  to  hundreds.  The  de 
bentures  and  contingent  expenses  of  the  Legislature  of  1808 
were,  in  round  numbers,  twelve  thousand  dollars  ;  in  18f>8, 
thirty-six  thousand  dollars,  a  very  large  proportion  of  which  is 
made  up  from  the  excess  of  contingent  expenses. 

While  relating  events  and  incidents  connected  with,  and  illus= 
trative  of  the  history  of  the  town,  we  will  describe  another  vil 
lage  scene  which  occurred  a  few  years  later.  It  was  in  Febru 
ary,  1812,  a  few  months  before  the  declaration  of  our  last  war 
with  Great  Britain.  Party  spirit,  which  had  been  almost 
unknown  in  town  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  settlement,  had 
for  the  last  few  years  been  creeping  in  to  disturb  the  political, 
and  even  social  harmony  that  had  so  happily  prevailed  among 
them.  And  by  this  time,  all  had  taken  firm  or  decided  stands 
in  favor,  or  against  the  war  in  contemplation  by  our  National 
Government;  the  Democrats  feeling  our  nation  to  have  been 
grossly  insulted  and  injured  by  Great  Britain,  warmly  advocating 
the  war ;  and  the  Federalist,  professing  to  believe  a  war  wholly 
unnecessary,  as  bitterly  opposing  and  denouncing  it.  The  Dem 
ocrats  were  now  in  the  ascendency  in  the  State,  and  largely  so 
in  the  county ;  and  the  latter,  as  the  same  bitter  contest  was 
going  on  in  Congress,  and  the  administration  were  appealing  to 
the  nation  to  be  sustained  in  their  war  measures,  considered  it 
important  and  right  that  some  great  and  general  demonstration 
of  their  principles  and  sympathies  with  the  general  government, 
should  be  made  at  the  capital  of  the  State.  And  accordingly  a 
day  was  appointed  for  such  a  meeting  at  the  State  House  in 

15 


114  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

Montpelier,  and  notice  of  the  appointment  industriously  circulat 
ed  through  every  part  of  the  surrounding  country. 

We  have  seen  some  rather  piping  political  times  since  that 
period,  but  none,  which,  for  intense  excitement  and  party  ani 
mosity,  could  at  all  compare  with  those  that  were  everywhere 
exhibited  on  the  approach  of  the  war  of  1812.  Though  but  a 
boy  at  the  time,  we  can  now  easily  recall  many  a  demonstration 
of  party  feeling  in  towns  and  neighborhoods,  which  we  now  lind 
it  difficult  to  make  appear  as  a  reality.  There  was  an  old  man 
named  Joseph  Goodenow,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Berlin,  and 
the  progenitor  of  the  families  of  that  name,  still  mostly  residing 
on  the  original  homestead,  lying  in  the  North-east  part  of  the 
town,  on  the  Wiriooski,  two  or  three  miles  above  JVlontpelier  vil 
lage.  The  old  gentleman,  who  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood 
with  us,  was  a  flaming  Democrat  and  war  man.  He  used  to  go 
on  foot  to  the  village,  very  often,  to  hear  the  war  news,  and 
learn  the  machinations  of  the  Tories,  as  lie  always  called  the 
Federalists.  When  going  to  the  village,  he  was  always  seen 
walking  slowly,  and  with  two  stick  canes.  When  returning,  af 
ter  having  got  his  irascible  feelings  kindled  up  by  what  lie  had 
heard  of  the  Tories  at  the  seat  of  news,  he  was  generally  seen 
walking  fast  and  with  only  one  cane.  And  once  when  he  had 
been  particularly  excited  by  some  important  piece  of  war  news 
and  a  personal  altercation  Avith  some  of  the  village  Tories  whom 
he  had  found  discussing  it  in  the  streets,  lie  was  seen  leaning 
towards  home  as  fast  as  a  man  walking  on  a  wager  and  with  no 
cane  at  all. 

But  to  return  to  the  great  war  meeting.  Like  most  other 
boys,  we  were  for  drums,  guns,  etc.,  and  of  course  for  the  war, 
anyhow,  and  we  resolved  to  attend:  so  when  the  day  arrived,  we 
mustered  out  a  few  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  and  with  them 
proceeded  on  foot,  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  we  neared  the 
village  we  found  every  road  almost  literally  black  with  the 
throngs  of  men  and  boys  on  foot,  on  horse  back,  in  cutters  and 
thickly  packed  double  sleighs,  all  pouring  into  town  and  hurry 
ing  forward  to  the  place  of  the  appointed  meeting.  On  reach 
ing  the  State  House,  we  found  the  doors  just  being  thrown  open  : 
and,  standing  amidst  the  waiting  and  impatient  crowd,  we  were 
borne  on,  in  the  mighty  rush  through  the  principal  entrance, 
which  was  then  instantly  made,  till  we  were  forced  up  close  to 
the  broad  plank  platform,  that  had  been  erected  over  the  clerk's 
desk  for  the  accommodation  of  the  opposing  speakers;  for  it 
was  understood,  that  even  here,  the  Federalists  would  appear  in 
force,  to  prevent  the  passage  of  any  resolves  going  to  encourage 
the  threatened  declaration  of  war  by  Congress.  We  now  unex- 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  115 

pectedly  found  oursclf  not  only  in  the  midst  of  the  Democratic 
managers  of  the  proceedings,  but  in  the  best  possible  position  for 
hearing  and  seeing  everything  that  transpired.  The  war  party, 
who  however  were  found  far  to  outnumber  their  opponents, 
ranged  themselves  on  the  west  side,  and  over  all  the  front  part 
of  the  representative's  hall,  leaving  for  the  other  party,  about 
one-third  of  the  room,  next  the  south-east  corner,  where  they 
defiantly  took  their  stand,  in  spite  of  the  angry  and  threatening 
looks  and  glances  of  the  overpowering  crowd  of  the  exasperated 
friends  of  the  administration,  by  whom  they  were  on  everyside 
now  completely  hedged  in.  At  this  stage  of  affairs,  one  of  the 
numerous  Democratic  Committee  was  dispatched  to  invite  the 
Reverend  Chester  Wright,  the  settled  minister  of  the  village,  to 
open  the  meeting  with  prayer.  But  the  messenger  shortly 
returned  and,  with  excited  looks,  announced  that  Mr.  Wright, 
on  account  of  conscientious  scruples  about  the  war,  as  lie  inter 
red,  declined  to  accept  the  invitation.  A  low  burst  of  indigna 
tion  at  once  followed  the  announcement,  from  those  who  gath 
ered  at  once  about  the  messenger,  while  he  was  making  it.  And 
the  next  moment,  the  calls  of  u  Uncle  Ziba  !  "  u  UNCLE  ZIRA  ! !  " 
rose  from  twenty  voices  around,  wrhcn  instantly  a  leading  com 
mittee  man  hastily  mounted  the  platform  and  cried  aloud— 

"  Is  the  Reverend  /iba  Woodworth  present  in  this  audience  ? 
If  so,  lie  is  respectfully  invited  to  come  forward  on  to  the  plat 
form,  and  open,  this  meeting  with  prayer." 

Mr.  Woodworth,  who,  as  before  intimated,  was  as  ardent  a 
Democrat  as  he  was  a  Christian,  and  who,  from  his  wounds  at 
Fort  Griswold,  had  a  stiffened  and  crooked  leg,  which  seemed 
always  to  become  stiffer  and  straighter  in  moments  of  excitement, 
no\v  came  rapidly  stumping  through  the  crowd  to  the  indicated 
stand  ;  when,  hastily  drawing  a  chair  before  him,  he  quickly 
dropped  down  on  one  knee,  and,  throwing  out  the  whole  of  the 
other  leg  with  a  jerk,  straighter  than  ever  before,  instantly  rais 
ed  his  sharp,  ringing,  and  peculiarly  emotional  voice,  in  the  invi 
ted  invocation.  After  an  unusually  brief  introductory  address 
to  the  throne  of  mercy,  he  was  hurried  by  his  feelings  at  once 
into  the  political  spirit  of  the  meeting,  and  poured  forth  a  tor 
rent  of  blessings  on  our  rulers  for  their  far-seeing  wisdom  and 
noble  patriotism  in  so  fearlessly  taking  their  stand  in  resisting 
the  aggressions  of  British  tyranny.  He  then  turned  to  "  the 
enemies  of  the  war,  and  the  enemies  of  our  blessed-blessed  coun 
try,"  and  began  to  ask  God's  pity  on  their  blindness,  and  his 
forgiveness  of  their  treasonable  dereliction  of  patriotic  duty, 
and  still  more  treasonable  opposition  to  the  wise  measures  of  our 
God-appointed  rulers,  in  language  which  indirectly  involved  the 


116  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

rebuke  of  some  scathing  satire.  At  this  stage  of  the  prayer,  one 
of  our  village  Democrats,  who  was  a  wiekcd  wag  as  well  as  a 
hot  politician,  and  who  was  standing  at  the  end  of  the  platform 
within  reach  of  the  heated  speaker,  reached  over  and  sharply 
punching  his  extended  leg,  in  a  low,  eager,  half-whispered  tone, 
exclaimed— 

"  That  is  right  I  Give  it  to  'em — give  it  to  'em,  Uncle  Ziba  !'' 

And  Uncle  Ziba  did  "  give  it  to  'em,"  on  that  occasion  in  a 
manner  and  with  a  severity,  which  was  perhaps  never  paralleled 
by  anything  ever  heard  purporting  to  come  in  the  shape  of  a 
prayer. 

The  leading  speakers  of  the  two  parties,  no\v  took  their  seats 
with  their  several  party  backers  on  the  opposite  ends  of  the 
platform.  On  the  one  side  sat  the  small-sized,  keen-eyed,  rea 
dy-witted  and  really  talented  James  Fisk  of  Barre,  who  was 
then  the  member  of  Congress  for  this  district,  and  who  had  now 
come  on  to  act  as  the  champion  speaker  for  the  Democrats,  at 
this  meeting.  On  the  other  hand,  as  the  champion  of  the  Feder 
alists,  sat  the  large-sized,  stern-looking,  and  ever  cool  and  self 
assured  Nicholas  Baylies,  Esq.,  who  had  not  long  before  settled 
and  became  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  in  the  village,  and  who 
now  appeared  here  with  his  satchel  of  documents,  newspapers 
and  constitutional  law  books,  to  give  unflinching  battlo  to  the 
u  fierce  democracy,"  and  everything  their  leaders  should  bring 
forward  in  favor  of  war  measures. 

A  long  string  of  resolutions,  approving  the  course  which  was, 
then  being  pursued  by  the  Administration,  and  warmly  recom 
mending  a  declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain  for  the  inju 
ries  and  aggressions  therein  enumerated,  was  read  and  moved  by 
one  of  the  leading  Administration  men ;  whereupon  Mr.  Fisk 
rose  and  advocated  the  passage  of  the  resolutions,  in  a  long, 
pointed  and  zealous  speech,  which  was  interrupted,  every  few 
minutes,  by  his  keenly  sympathizing  party  adherents,  in  uproar 
ous  bursts  of  applause.  Then  came  the  turn  of  Mr.  Baylies, 
who,  nothing  daunted  by  the  significant  opposing  demonstrations 
around  him,  rose  and  commenced  his  argument  for  demolishing 
the  positions  of  the  rival  speaker ;  and  having  effected  his  object, 
to  his  own  satisfaction,  he  proceeded  to  a  general  onslaught  upon 
President  Madison  and  his  legal  advisers  at  Washington.  He 
had  gone  but  a  short  way  in  this  part  of  his  speech,  however, 
before  old  Matthew  Wallace  of  Berlin,  a  tall,  resolute,  intelli 
gent  Irish  immigrant,  who  was  then  to  this  side  the  mountain 
what  his  countryman,  Matthew  Lyon,  had  previously  been  on  the 
other  side,  leaped  suddenly  to  his  feet,  and,  in  a  voice  that  rang 
through  the  crowded  room,  exclaimed, — 


HISTORY   OF   MON1TELIEK.  117 

•'  Can't  .stand  that !  Can't  stand  that,  Mr.  Chairman  !  Any 
thing  in  reason,  hut,  hy  heavens,  sir,"  he  added  with  flashing  eye 
and  hrandishcd  list,  "I  shan't  sit  here  to  listen  to  outright  trea 


This  rather  brought  the  speaker  to  a  stand;  hut  after  wisely 
qualifying  his  remarks,  and  promising  more  moderation  in  future, 
lie  was  permitted  to  go  on  with  his  speech  to  the  conclusion. 
After  this,  Mr.  Fisk  replied,  and  some  others  on  the  same  side  ; 
when  Mr.  Baylies,  plucky  to  the  last,  rose  to  close  the  discussion, 
and  proceeded  on  to  do  so,  till  the  coughing,  hissing  and  whis 
tling  of  the  impatient  audience  drove  him  from  the  stand. 

The  resolutions  were  then  again  read  ;  and  the  question  of 
their  adoption  being  put,  they  were  passed  with  one  tremendous 
acclamation,  and  the  meeting  broke  up  witli  a  round  of  hurrahs 
fur  Madison  and  the  war,  that  made  the  old  State  House  shake 
and  tremble  from  mudsill  to  reach-pole. 

Such  was  this  great  and  notable  war  meeting  in  Montpelier  in 
IX 12,  a  faint  description  of  which  we  have  here  introduced,  both 
because  its  occurrence  properly  demanded  a  place  in  the  history 
of  the  town,  and  because  it  may  bo  well  for  our  young  readers  to 
know  that  as  high  as  they  may  think  party  spirit  runs  at  this 
day,  it  no  more  compares  with  the  party  feeling  of  that  day  than 
a  zephyr  compares  with  a  tornado."* 


"Since  writing  the  above  account  of  this  noted  war-meeting  of  1812,  in  which  we 
attempted  only  to  describe  what  we,  then  a  boy  spectator,  heard  and  witnessed,  there 
have  come  to  our  knowledge  several  curious  historical  facts  connected  with  the  meet 
ing,  which  may  interest  the  political  reader  at  least  to  know  ;  and  which,  at  any  rate, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  to  our  description. 

Alfthc  leading  politicians  and  most  active  members  of  the  Federal  party,  of  Mont- 
pplier  and  vicinity,  had  organized  themselves  into  one  of  those  political  associations 
known  at  the  time  as  the  \Vashingtonian  Societies,  the  more  effectively  to  oppose  the 
National  Administration,  and  thwart  its  then  contemplated  measure  of  a  declaration 
nf  war  against  Great  Britain.  And  the  leaders  of  this  society  in  this  section  having 
r-rrn  the  exertions  the  Democrats,  who  were  in  a  majority  in  this  County,  were  making 
to  get  up  a  large  meeting  to  sustain  and  encourage  the  Administration,  laid  a  scheme 
to  control  the  meeting,  and  thus  prevent  any  expression  in  favor  of  the  war  from  going 
forth  from  this  place.  But  it  would  seem  they  were  destined  to  be  caught  in  their  own 
trap.  Although  the  Democrats,  at  the  opening  of  the  meeting  in  the  forenoon,  hap 
pened  to  be  in  force  enough  to  elect  one  of  their  party,  the  lion.  Ezra  Butler,  Chair  • 
man,  yet  scarcely  was  this  effected  before  the  Washingtonians  entered  the  hall  in  a 
body,  and  so  completely  outnumbered  the  Democrats  that  not  a  single  vote  looking  to 
the  support  of  the  Administration  could  be  carried.  Whereupon  a  scene  of  confusion 
ensued — both  parties  for  a  while  claiming  a  majority  vote;  while  the  disappointed 
Chairman,  hardly  willing  to  trust  his  own  senses,  was  heard  shouting,  in  his  usual 
'•low,  deep  toned  and  peculiarly  emphatic  manner, — "  Silence  in  the  house — 1  say 
•- II.KNCE  !"  But  so  warm  and  decided  were  his  feelings  and  sentiments  in  favor  of 
war  measures  that  he  could  not  be  brought  to  declare  any  vote  tending  to  contravene 
the  object  of  his  party  in  the  meeting.  And  after  once  or  twice  attempting  to  c\adc 
declarations  of  votes,  on  account  of  his  doubting  which  of  the  yea  and  nay  responses 
WHS  in  majority,  he  was  soon  pressed  so  hard  by  the  out-clamoring  Federalists  that  he 
resigned  his  post,  and  left  the  chair  empty.  The  1'ederalists  then,  with  exulting  ac 
clamations,  instantly  elected  the  Hon.  Charles  Bulkier- -one  of  the  most  high  toned 
Federalists  and  decided  opposers  of  the  war  in  the  whole  country — Chairman  of  the 
meeting.  But  their  triumph  was  of  short  duration.  By  this  time  the  Democrats 
from  abroad  came  pouring  into  the  village,  and  before  the  Federalists  were  able  to 


118  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


CHAPTER  X. 

INVENTIONS.  —  IMPROVEMENTS.  —  NOVEL    ENTERPRISES.  —  VERMONT 
MUTUAL    FIRE    INSURANCE    COMPANY.  —  BANK     OF   MONTPELIER. 

Between  1810  and  1830,  there  were  undertaken  a  number  of 
enterprises  in  Montpelier.,  which  were  of  so  novel  and  peculiar 
a  character,  and  which  so  well  bespeak  the  inventive  genius, 
mechanical  skill  and  adventurous  energy  of  many  of  its  individ 
ual  citizens  of  the  period,  as  richly  to  deserve  a  place  in  its 
history. 

In  1810,  Napoleon  Bonaparte  published  to  the  world  the  oiler 
of  a  reward  of  a  million  of  francs  to  any  one  who  should  invent 
and  exhibit  to  the  approval  of  the  commissioners  to  whom  it  was 
to  be  submitted,  at  his  capital,  a  machine  which  should  prove 
successful  in  spinning  flax  in  the  manner  of  spinning  silk  and 
cotton  by  water  power.  As  soon  as  this  magnificent  oiler  became 
known  in  Montpelier,  Mr.  Elislia  Town  a  most  ingenious  inven 
tive  Cabinet  Maker,  who  had  been  doing  a  small  business  in  that 
line,  in  the  place,  since  about  1804,  on  the  suggestion  and  with 
the  encouragement  of  Sylvanus  Baldwin,  who  was  then  erecting 
a  factory  to  spin  cotton  where  Langdon's  mill  now  stands  on  the 
Montpelier  side  of  the  river,  and  who  was  one  of  the  most  scien 
tific  mechanics  of  those  times  in  this  section,  immediately  set  his 
brains  to  work  to  achieve  the  great  desideratum  ;  and  for  the 
next  eighteen  months,  day  and  night,  waking  and  dreaming,  was 
Mr.  Town's  brains  engrossed  with  the  important  project.  Rough 
model  after  model  was  got  up,  and  experiment  after  experiment 
made  on  each,  and  each  successively  cast  aside  as  they  were 
found  to  be  failures  ;  yet  nothing  discouraged  he  persistently 
returned  to  the  work  of  getting  up  new  ones  in  full  confidence 
in  his  ability  eventually  to  accomplish  the  object. 


pass  a  single  vote  expressive  of  their  views,  the  hall  was  filled  with  the  excited,  war 
breathing  friends  of  the  Administration,  who,  being  now  an  overwhelming  majority, 
took  everything  into  their  own  hands,  commenced  proceedings  clc  noro,  and  proceeded 
and  ended  as  above  named  in  our  description  of  the  meeting.  Esquire  Bulkley,  as  he 
was  universally  called,  did  not,  however,  follow  the  example  of  his  predecessor  by  re 
signing,  but,  from  some  pique  or  policy,  retained  the  chair  to  the  end;  but  was  com 
pelled  to  see  his  name,  in  the  published  proceedings,  signed  to  the  war  resolutions 
which  were  finally  so  triumphantly  passed — as  much  to  his  chagrin  and  that  of  his 
party,  probably,  as  to  the  sly  exultation  of  the  victorious  Democrats,  who  thus  not 
only  carried  their  war  resolutions,  but  had  the  wicked  pleasure  of  seeing  one  of  the 
most  influential  opposers  of  the  war  made  to  give  them  the  sanction  of  his  name. 


HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER.  119 

A  few  years  ago  the  old  yellow  house,  which  stood  in  the 
place  of  Timothy  Cross'  present  residence,  and  which  was  the 
dwelling  of  Sylvanus  Baldwin,  the  consulting  friend  to  whom 
Mr.  Town  was  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  report  progress,  show 
parts  of  his  experimental  machinery  and  take  advice — the  old 
yellow  house  was  torn  down  ;  when,  in  the  garret,  were  found 
sundry  curious  specimens  of  parts  of  this  machine,  made  in  the 
different  stages  of  its  perfection,  and  of  so  singular  a  construc 
tion  as  to  become  a  great  puzzle  to  all  attempting  to  conjecture 
the  object  of  their  manufacture,  till  Mr.  Town's  connection  with 
the  former  owner  oi  the  house,  in  the  construction  of  his  flax- 
spinning  machine,  was  recalled.  One  of  these  specimens  is  still 
preserved  by  Mr.  Cross  as  a  curiosity.  It  is  a  delicate  steel 
spring  confined  to  a  corresponding  slat  of  iron,  opening  and 
shutting  like  tweezers,  which  is  understood  to  have  been  one  of 
a  row  of  the  same  kind,  fixed  in  the  feeder  of  the  machine  to 
sie/e  the  haii  of  the  flax  and  conduct  it  to  the  spindle,  the 
great  difficulty  consisting  in  making  the  spindles  take,  and  draw 
out  the  flax  as  they  do  the  more  adhesive  fibres  of  cotton. 

After  an  unremitting  perseverence  of  a  year  and  a  half,  how 
ever,  Mr.  Town,  belieying  he  had  mastered  every  difficulty,  and 
obtaining  the  pecuniary  assistance  of  his  friend  Sylvanus  Baldwin 
and  Josiah  Parks  of  Montpelier,  and  David  Harrington  of  Mid 
dlesex,  who  thereby  became  sharers  in  the  profits  or  loss  of  the 
enterprise,  constructed  a  handsome  model,  a  miniature  machine 
operative  by  hand-power,  and,  in  company  with  those  gentlemen 
proceeded  with  it  to  Boston,  to  find  a  passage  to  France.  Soon 
after  arriving  in  Boston,  where  they  exhibited  the  machine,  the 
company  sold  out  one  quarter  of  their  right  in  the  invention  to 
some  gentlemen  there  who  became  confident  of  its  success,  for  a 
sum  of  money  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense  of  taking  it  to  Eu 
rope,  and  divide  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  dollars  apiece 
among  the  shareholders.  Mr.  Baldwin  and  Mr.  Parks  then  sail 
ed  witli  the  machine  to  France.  But  when  they  arrived  in  Paris 
Napoleon  was  absent  on  his  great  expedition  to  Russia,  and  had 
just  reached  that  dizzy  pinnacle  of  his  fortunes  at  Moscow,  from 
which  lie  was  soon  to  be  hurled,  never  more  to  rise  again  suffi 
cient  to  carry  out  those  great  plans  which  he  had  laid  for  the 
improvement  of  his  empire.  The  commissioners  appointed  to 
decide  on  the  flax  spinners  presented  for  the  reward  were  either 
with  him,  or  so  much  engrossed  with  the  momentous  events  on 
which  the  destinies  of  their  country  were  turning,  that  they  could 
not  be  got  together  ;  and  Mr.  Baldwin  and  Mr.  Parks  took  the 
machine  to  England.  Here  they  sold  out  the  whole  right  of  the 
company  for  constructing  machines  in  that  country,  for  quite  a 


120  HISTORY  OF   MONTPELIER. 

large  sum,  but  payable  in  merchandize,  consisting  mostly  or 
wholly  of  nails.  By  that  time  a  war  had  sprung  up  between 
England  and  the  United  States,  and  there  was  a  difficulty  in 
getting  the  nails  home  in  the  most  direct  manner.  They  there 
fore  sent  them  to  the  West  Indies,  to  be  reshipped  in  some  A- 
merican  bottom  and  brought  to  one  of  our  ports.  But  the  ship 
taking  them  was  lost  or  captured,  and  nothing  consequently  ever 
realized,  either  from  rewards  or  sales  arising  from  the  invention 
in  Europe. 

Mr.  Sylvanus  Baldwin,  however,  taking  with  him  his  brother, 
the  present  Honorable  Daniel  Baldwin,  then  working  for  him, 
went  to  Boston  the  next  summer  after  his  fruitless  voyage  to  En 
rope,  and  commenced  building  a  flax  spinner  on  the  old  model. 
While  Mr.  Sylvanus  Baldwin  was  there  engaged  on  the  work, 
he  received,  from  Mr.  Samuel  Salisbury,  Jr.,  of  that  city,  the 
offer  of  $ 0000,  for  his  right  in  the  machine,  which  was  about  one 
quarter  of  the  number  of  shares  into  which  the  stock  Itad  been 
divided.  But  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  younger  brother,  he 
declined  to  accept  the  offer,  on  the  ground  mostly,  that  if  the 
machine  was  to  be  a  success,  he  should  have  an  altogether 
greater  sum,  and  if  not,  he  should  not  like  to  reflect  that  he  had 
taken  so  large  a  sum  from  a  man  who  failed  to  receive  any  ben 
eflt  from  the  outlay. 

Mr.  Sylvanus  Baldwin  thenceforward  continued  to  prosecute 
his  labors  on  the  machine  till  it  was  nearly  completed,  when 
peace  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  taking  place, 
and  with  it  and  the  dethronement  of  Bonaparte,  the  particular  de 
mand  for  such  a  machine  ceasing,  both  in  this  country  and 
France,  the  project  was  abandoned,  and  Mr.  Baldwin,  returned 
to  Montpelier,  having  never  received,  probably,  half  enough  to 
compensate  him  for  his  time  and  expenses.  What  became  of  this 
machine  is  now  not  certainly  known.  We  recollect,  however, 
to  have  once  seen  it  stated  in  some  public  journal  that  it  was 
taken  to  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  to  some  extent  put  in  operation, 
but  not  with  sufficient  success,  probably,  to  warrant  the  contin 
uance  of  the  experiment.  That  the  machine  would  spin  very 
fair  thread,  when  the  flax  was  properly  prepared,  was  demon- 
strated ;  but  there  were  several  little  difficulties  which  had  not 
been  fully  overcome,  and  which  prevented  the  machine  from  be 
ing  worked  profitably.  Had  half  the  ingenuity  and  expense 
been  laid  out  on  it  which  has  been  devoted,  through  a  half  cen 
tury  or  successive  improvements,  to  cotton  spinning  in  bringing 
it  to  its  present  state  of  perfection,  it  would  now  probably  be  in 
successful  operation,  both  in  this  country  and  Europe. 

Before  dismissing   this    subject   we    cannot  forbear  a  passing 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  121 

tribute  to  the  genius  of  Mr.  Elisha  Town,  the  chief  inventor  of 
the  machine,  the  history  of  which  we  have  been  giving.  Mont 
pelier  never  produced,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  whole  state 
ever  produced,  a  man  of  a  more  truly  inventive  mind.  But  his 
book  knowledge  of  mechanics  and  previous  mechanical  inven 
tions,  was  quite  limited ;  and  he  was  known  to  have  studied  out 
principles  and  spent  much  time  in  building  machines  for  their 
application  to  inventions,  which,  though  perfectly  original  in  him, 
were  found,  at  last,  to  have  been  long  before  made  and  put  in 
operation  by  others.  And  although  he  was  continually  get 
ting  up  something  new,  yet  we  now  find  his  name  coupled 
with  no  invention  of  much  importance,  except  what  may  attach 
to  his  flax  spinning  machine.  Like  most  men  of  inventive  gen 
ius,  he  was  through  life  emphatically  poor,  but  was  ever  esteem 
ed,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  a  few  years  ago,  a  most  inoffen 
sive  and  worthy  eiti/on. 

The  old  Arch  Bridge  extending  across  the  Winooski  to  Berlin, 
just  above  the  falls,  as  it  was  the  first  structure  of  the  kind  ever 
attempted  in  town,  if  not  in  the  whole  State,  and  as  it  was  a  tri 
umphant  success,  certainly  deserves,  with  its  Architect,  a  passing- 
notice  in  the  history  of  Montpelier.  It  was  built  in  the  summer 
of  1826,  by  Sylvanus  Baldwin  and  Winslow  <t  Owen,  the  latter 
being  partners  in  house  building,  and  the  former,  as  we  have  seen 
by  his  connection  with  the  building  of  the  first  State  House  and 
the  construction  of  the  flax  spinning  machine,  a  general  mechanic 
of  skill  and  information,  for  the  times,  in  the  practice  and  theory 
of  the  various  applications  of  mechanical  science.  In  the  con 
struction  of  this  bridge,  Mr.  Baldwin  was  the  sole  projector  and 
chief  engineer.  Several  bridges,  built  on  the  old  plan — with 
t ressels  set  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  two  sets  of  string  pie 
ces — had  been  built  at  this  place  and  swept  away  by  the  floods : 
and  it  now,  therefore,  became  a  desideratum  to  have  a  bridge 
here  which  should  reach  across  the  river  with  a  single  span. 
Mr.  Baldwin,  feeling  confident  of  his  ability  to  accomplish  this 
object,  undertook  the  job  with  Winslow  &  Owen,  for  the  insuf 
ficient  sum  of  $1800,  which  had  been  voted  for  the  purpose  by 
the  towns  of  Montpelier  and  Berlin.  In  due  time  the  structure, 
at  the  close  of  a  hard  day's  work,  was  pronounced  finished  : 
while  it  was  further  announced  that  the  next  morning,  after 
breakfast,  the  slight  tressel  supporter  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream,  on  which  the  bridge  appeared  to  rest,  would  be  knocked 
away,  when  it  would  be  seen  whether  the  fabric  would  stand,  or, 
as  had  been  often  predicted,  come  down  with  a  crash  into  the 
river.  At  the  appointed  hour  the  next  morning,  many  curious 
citizens  were  seen  wending  their  way  to  the  spot,  and  among-  the 

ItJ 


122  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

rest  the  quaint  and  witty  old  Judge  Ware,  who,  on  being  asked 
where  he  was  going,  replied  that  he  "  was  going  to  see  what  a 
splash  Deacon  Baldwin's  new  fanglcd  bridge  would  make  when 
it  tumbled  into  the  mill-pond/"  When  they  reached  the  bridge 
they  saw  the  supporting  tressel-work  still  standing  in  the  middle 
of  the  river,  and  for  a  while  stood  expectantly  awaiiing  the  ac 
tion  of  the  workmen  which  was  to  afford  them  the  expected 
spectacle.  After  listening  to  their  predictions  with  a  knowing 
smile,  and  enjoying  their  manifestations  of  doubt  and  boding  ex 
pectation  awhile,  Mr.  Baldwin  invited  them  down  to  the  edge, 
of  the  water  under  one  end  of  the  bridge,  where  a  near  and 
clear  view  could  be  obtained  of  all  underneath  ;  when,  to  their 
surprise,  they  saw  that  the  top-most  piece  of  the  blocking,  laid 
on  the  plate  of  the  tressel  to  shore  up  the  bridge  while  building, 
hiid  already  been  removed.  Mr.  Baldwin  had  slyly  been  thoiv 
alone,  an  hour  or  two  before,  and  knocked  out  eight  01  ton  inr.hes 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  blocking,  and  the  bridge  was  no\v  hang 
ir.g,  by  that  distance,  perfectly  clear  of  all  support  from  beneath, 
not  having  settled  an  inch  on  the  removal  of  its  apparent  sup 
ports.  And  from  that  day  to  this,  now  going  on  thirty-four 
years,  this  noble  and  workman-like  structure  has  neither  given 
way  or  settled,  but  stands  as  firm  and  safe,  to  all  appearance  ns 
il:  did  when  it  was  finished  and  opened  for  travel. 

This  was  the  monument  which  Mr.  Baldwin,  while  conferring 
a  great  public  benefit,  reared  for  himself  in  Montpelier.  And 
few  have  left  a  prouder  memorial.  But  these  visible  proofs  of 
the  genius  and  general  character  of  Sylvanus  Baldwin  are 
not  the  only  things  which  should  cause  his  memory  to  be  cher 
ished  by  the  citizens  of  this  town.  He  was  the  first  chosen  Dea 
con  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Montpelier,  and  ever  acted 
well  his  part  in  sustaining  the  religions  and  moral  interest  of  our 
village  community;  while  his  amiable  disposition,  unvarying  ur 
banity,  liberality  in  all  benevolent  movements,  and  all  objects  on 
foot  for  social  advancement,  made  him  highly  esteemed  at  homo, 
and  respected  wherever  he  was  known  abroad.  He  removed  lo 
the  West  soon  after  building  this  Arch  Bridge,  and  died  near 
( Jolumbus,  Ohio,  about  ten  years  ago. 

During  the  summer  of  1827  was  started  the  novel  and  since 
somewhat  widely  noted  enterprise  of  boring  for  salt  water  in 
Montpelier.  The  origin  of  this  enterprise  is  traceable  to  the 
following  circumstances : 

Salt,  about  that  time,  which  was  before  the  day  of  cheap  trans 
portation  by  railroads  or  canals,  was  Irom  three  to  four  dollars 
per  bushel ;  and  reflecting  men  among  our  citizens  were  very 
uaturally  casting  about  in  mind  for  the  means  of  lessening  this 


HISTORY   OF   MOXTFELIEK.  123 

tax.  on  our  inland  community  for  the  supply  of  this  indis 
pensable  article.  They  were  aware  of  the  existence  of  salt 
springs,  opening-  at  the  surface,  in  Western  New  York,  not  over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant  in  a  direct  line  from  Mont- 
pelier,  and  the  open  mineral  springs,  in  which  salt  is  a  consider 
able  component,  at  Saratoga,  only  about  one  hundred  miles 
distant.  And  they  had  further  learned  that  in  Ohio  and  Penn 
sylvania,  just  about  as  far  west  of  the  surface  salt  springs  of 
Western  New  York  as  Montpclier  is  to  the  cast  of  it,  salt  water 
had  almost  always,  by  sinking  wells,  or  boring  down  by  machin 
ery  to  different  depths,  been  abundantly  obtained.  And  to  add 
to  the  probability  that  salt  water  might  also  exist  at  no  unap 
proachable  depth  beneath  the  surface  here,  the  fact  Avas  called  to 
mind  that  there  was  reputed  to  have  been  a  salt  lick  spring  about 
t\vo  miles  above  Montpclier,  on  the  borders  of  the  farm  of  Dan 
iel  Thompson,  in  Berlin.  And  as  a  better  authority  than  the 
writer  of  these  pages,  who  could  testify  to  the  old  tradition 
about  this  spring  being  once  a  salt  lick,  and  could  also  vouch  to 
the  brackish  taste  of  its  waters  at  the  present  time,  an  old  hun 
ter,  by  the  name  of  Thomas  G-aylord,  had  been  consulted  and 
found  ready  to  declare  that  while  hunting  in  the  locality,  before 
any  settlements  wore  begun  in  this  section,  his  attention  was  at 
tracted  to  this  spring  by  the  well  beaten  moose  and  deer  paths 
which  ho  traced  to  it,  and  that  on  approaching  it  he  found  the 
hard  earth  and  mud  all  around  it  beat  and  poached  up  by  the 
feet  of  these  animals  as  thoroughly  as  the  ground  by  the  feet  of 
cattle  round  a  spring  in  a  cow  pasture.  The  geological  forma 
tions  of  the  place  were  also  examined,  by  the  aid  of  the  best 
treatises  on  the  subject  then  extant,  when  it  was  ascertained  that 
most  of  the  salt  beds,  or  the  springs  coming  from  them,  tints  far 
discovered,  had  been  found  located  in  secondary  lime  stone  for 
mat  ions,  often  alternating  with  sand  stone,  and  generally  in  the 
vicinity  of  extensive  clay  beds,  and  sometimes  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  primitive  granite  ranges.  And  here  in  Montpclier,  all 
along  the  borders  of  the  hills  south  of  the  Branch  and  east  of 
(he  river,  extended  the  required  clay  beds;  and  just  over  the 
ri\er  on  the  west  appeared  abundance  of  the  secondary  lime 
stone;  while  in  sight,  a  few  miles  distant,  towered  ridges  of  1  lie 
primitive  granite.  Thus  all  the  indications  seemed  to  combine 
to  show  the  probable  existence  of  salt,  or  salt  water,  somewhere 
beneath  us. 

While  these  enquiries  and  speculations  were  going  on,  the 
lion.  Daniel  Baldwin,  of  this  village,  received  a  letter  from  a 
friend,  of  the  name  of  Jesse  C.  Smith,  formerly  of  this  place, 
who  had  seen  people  successfully  engaged  in  boring  for  salt  wa- 


124  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER. 

ter  near  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  who  suggested  the  probability 
that  salt  might  also  be  found  by  boring  at  Montpelier  ;  where 
upon  Mr.  Baldwin,  with  the  concurrence  of  a  few  spirited  indi 
viduals,  wrote  on  to  his  friend  to  send  on  some  competent  per 
son  to  make  an  examination  of  the  indications  of  subterranean 
salt  water  at  this  place.  And  in  pursuance  of  this  request,  a 
Mr.  Patrick  Finley,  who  had  bored  several  of  these  salt  spring 
wells  in  Ohio,  in  due  time  made  his  appearance,  went  into  a  care 
ful  investigation,  and  reported  that  the  geological  formations 
and  other  indications  of  salt,  were  much  the  same  here  as  in 
Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  wrhere  salt  water  had  been  obtained,  and 
that  he  thought  circumstances  warranted  the  attempt  of  boring 
for  it  at  Montpelier. 

On  this,  Mr.  Baldwin  set  to  work  in  getting  up  a  company  for 
the  purpose  ;  and  he  soon  succeeded  in  obtaining  one  of  about 
sixty  subscribers,  who  organized,  employed  Mr.  Finley,  assisted 
him  in  getting  up  the  requisite  water  power  machinery,  and  set 
him  to  boring  down  through  the  rock  with  steel  drills  and  spruce 
pole  shafting,  at  a  spot  still  to  be  found  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
river,  about  equi-distant  from  the  old  paper-mill  and  the  abut 
ment  of  the  Arch  Bridge. 

By  the  journal  kept  by  Mr.  Finley,  and  now  lying  before  us, 
we  iind  he  got  all  his  machinery  (which  was  very  simple,  con 
sisting  mostly  of  a  contrivance  for  alternately  lifting  and  letting 
fall  the  shafted  drill  by  means  of  a  water-wheel,)  in  operation, 
and  commenced  boring  on  the  8th  day  of  August,  1827.  And 
from  that  time  the  work  was  prosecuted,  with  occasional  respites 
and  interruptions,  caused  in  extricating  drills  or  shafts  becoming 
fast  in  the  operation,  until  the  4th  day  of  January,  1830,  a  pe 
riod  of  two  years  and  nearly  five  months.  For  the  first  two 
years  the  boring  was  conducted  principally  by  Mr.  Finley,  and 
afterwards,  a  large  proportion  of  it  at  least,  by  Thomas  Davis 
and  his  son,  Norman  Davis.  At  the  date  last  named,  the  drill, 
or  some  of  the  shafts,  by  loose  stones  or  some  other  means,  be 
come  wedged  in  so  tightly  that  no  power  could  be  applied  suffi 
cient  to  draw  them  out ;  and  the  work  consequently  had  to  be 
abandoned. 

The  whole  depth  obtained,  at  this  time,  as  appears  by  the 
footings  found  on  the  journal,  was  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet , 
and  all  the  way,  except  an  occasional  interstice  shown  by  the 
sudden  sinking  of  the  drill  a  fewr  inches,  through  continuous 
solid  rock. 

It  had  been  the  intention  of  the  company  to  prosecute  the  ex 
periment  until  the  depth  of  one  thousand  feet  had  been  reached  ; 
and  but  for  the  accident,  which  brought  the  work  to  its  final 


HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER.  125 

stand,  this  would  doubtless  have  been  done,  in  despite  of  the 
fruitless  expense  already  incurred,  which  was  thirty-five  dollars 
on  each  of  the  sixty  shares  of  the  stock,  making  a  total  outlay  of 
§2,100  00. 

Tliis  expense  appears  to  have  been  cheerfully  paid  by  the 
shareholders,  and  was  not  probably  by  most  of  them  ever  re 
gretted.  For  many  of  them  were  actuated  by  scientific  objects, 
deeming  the  expense  well  incurred  with  the  view  of  ascertaining, 
even  if  nothing  else  was  gained,  the  rock  formations  and  mineral 
substances  existing  in  the  earth  beneath  us  here  at  Montpelier. 
And  in  this,  at  least,  they  were  fully  gratified.  Every  time  the 
drill  was  withdrawn  for  cleaning  out  the  well,  or  drill  hole,  the 
sediment  was  drawn  out,  the  kind  of  rock  of  which  it  was  com 
posed  ascertained,  and  the  result  entered  on  the  journal.  These 
cleanings  were  made  about  twice  a  week,  and  the  journal  fur 
nishes,  therefore,  a  pretty  correct  knowledge  of  the  kind  of 
rock  to  be  found  every  ten  feet,  or  oftener,  all  the  way  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  perforation. 

By  these  records  it  appears  that  the  rock  formations,  for  the 
first  seventy  feet,  consisted  of  a  hard  or  soft  slate,  the  hard 
slate  sometimes  running  into  impure  lime,  with  an  occasional 
^oam  of  white  Hint  or  quartz.  Then  carne  a  layer  of  ten  feet  of 
sand  stone,  then  forty-one  feet  of  soft  slate,  then  another  ten 
feet  of  sand  stone.  From  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  feet  the 
formation  consisted  of  alternating  layers  of  slate  and  lime,  with 
two  seams  of  sand  stone  occurring  in  the  distance.  From  two 
hundred  to  three  hundred  feet,  the  formation  become  almost 
wholly  blue  lime.  Then  was  found  three  feet  of  flint  and  lime 
intermingled,  and  then  a  layer  of  five  feet  of  white  sand  stone. 
From  this  depth  to  the  bottom  of  the  well  were  found  alternat 
ing  layers  of  lime  and  slate,  the  slate  soon  running  into  lime,  and 
the  lime  more  and  more  predominating,  with  no  other  rock 
through  the  whole  distance  to  vary  the  formation. 

At  the  depth  of  four  hundred  feet,  we  think — for  there  being 
no  record  of  the  circumstance,  we  can  only  speak  from  recollec 
tions  founded  on  what  we  heard  stated  in  our  frequent  visits  to 
the  works — the  drill  suddenly  broke  into  a  cavity  of  the  depth 
of  five  or  six  inches,  and  in  a  few  moments  a  copious  stream  of 
water  gushed  out  over  the  top  of  the  drill  Jiole.  One  or  two 
small  springs  had  been  encountered  before,  and  one  or  two  after 
wards,  but  the  latter  not  sufficient  to  vary  very  perceptibly  the 
volume  of  water  here  found,  or  to  modify  its  taste  or  quality. 
This  water  was  not  pure  soft  water,  though  it  seems  difficult  to 
decide  what  renders  it  otherwise.  It  appears  to  be  of  a  septic 
or  corrupting  quality,  not  very  dissimilar  in  taste  to  the  water 


126  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER, 


of  springs  impregnated  with  bog  iron  ore  and  rotten  wood.  Wo 
boiled  down  a  few  quarts  of  it  to  half  a  gill,  but  with  no  other  re 
sult  than  to  show  that  it  contained  no  salts  of  any  kind,  which  could 
be  detected  by  evaporation.  The  dirt  and  cubbish  lying  over 
the  mouth  of  this  perforation  was  last  summer  removed  under  the 
direction  of  our  enterprising  citizen,  James  R.  Langdon,  about 
two  hundred  feet  of  the  old  shafting  of  the  drill  drawn  out,  and 
a  lead  pipe  inserted,  from  which  may  now  be  seen  running  the 
same  old  spring  in  a  volume  of  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  which 
would  probably  be  twice  as  large,  but  for  the  obstruction  of  the 
shaft  still  remaining  wedged  in  below. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  attempt  of  boring  for  salt  at  Mont 
pclier,  which  has  often  been  lightly  treated  by  the  unreflecting, 
but  which  has  ever  been  regarded  by  the  reflecting  and  scientific, 
with  much  interest,  and  with  a  disposition  to  honor  the  chief 
projector  and  his  associates  in  the  laudable  undertaking  ;  for  it 
has  given  them  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  rock  formations  to 
a  great  depth  of  this  central  part  of  Yermont,  which  otherwise 
had  never  been  obtained;  and  as  to  the  main  object,  it  is  by  no 
means  a  settled  thing,  that,  had  the  intended,  or  a  greater  depth, 
been  attained,  salt  water  could  not  have  been  found.  The  for 
mation  was  becoming,  at  the  lower  portion  of  the  perforation, 
one  of  continuous  hard  lime  stone,  which  is  known  to  be  full  of 
cavities  and  often  of  very  extensive  fissures,  through  which  the 
salt  water,  even  admitting  no  salt  to  be  indigenous  to  the  locali 
tv,  might  have  found  its  way  from  its  great  central  fountains  in 
western  New  York. 

During  the  years  1827  and  1828  was  also  started  and  <istab 
lished  an  association,  which  was  destined  to  result  in  the  most 
extended  and  important  institution  in  the  State.  This  was  the 
YERMONT  MI:TUAL  FIRE  INSURANCE  COMPANY.  The  company 
was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  in  October  or  November, 
1827,  and  organized  in  March,  1828.  James  II.  Langdon  was 
chairman  of  the  meeting  of  organization,  and  D.P.Thompson 
Secretary.  A  board  of  Directors  was  then  chosen,  and  the  Hon. 
Daniel  Baldwin  was  chosen  the  first  President  of  the  company, 
and  Joshua  Y.  Yail,  Esq.,  the  first  permanent  Secretary.  Km 
Mr.  Baldwin  declining,  the  Hon.  Chapin  Keith  of  Barre,  was 
chosen  in  his  place,  and  held  the  office  about  one  year.  Hon. 
Israel  P.  Dana  of  Danville,  was  next  chosen  the  President,  and 
held  the  office  till  1838.  The  Hon.  John  Spalding  was  then 
chosen  President  and  held  the  office  till  1841,  when  the  Hon. 
Daniel  Baldwin  was  chosen ;  and,  this  time  accepting,  he  has 
continuously  filled  the  office  of  President  from  that  time  to  the 
present,  a  period  of  almost  twenty  years.  Mr.  Yail  continued  to 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  127 

fill  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  company  to  January  1850. 
\vhen  Charles  Dewey  was  chosen  in  his  place,  and  has  continued 
to  hold  the  office  ever  since.  The  Treasurers  were  changed  oft 
en  during  the  first  fourteen  years  of  the  existence  of  the  compa 
ny  :  but  in  1842  James  T.  Thurston  was  chosen  to  the  office,  and 
has  ever  since  been  continued  the  Treasurer  of  the  company. 

This  institution  became,  even  from  the  first,  under  the  regula 
tions  then  adopted,  a  safe  and  a  measurably  prosperous  one,  but 
after  the  accession  of  Mr.  Baldwin  to  the  Presidency,  it  seemed 
at  once  to  start  ahead  upon  a  new  career  of  prosperity  ;  and 
under  his  able  financial  and  prudential  management,  together 
\vith  that  of  the  efficient  Treasurer  and  Secretary,  soon  after 
elected,  it  lias  continued  to  grow  steadily  and  rapidly,  till  the 
number  of  policies  issued  now  stand  at  93,416,  the  amount  of 
capital,  or  premium  notes  now  in  force,  $1,596.492  41,  and  the 
amount  insured  and  now  at  risk,  $20,622,809;  thus  making  it, 
\\lien  the  capital  is  compared  with  the  risks,  probably  the  safest 
and  best  grounded  Fire  Insurance  Company  in  the  United  States. 

The  old  Bank  of  Montpelier,  about  this  time,  or  rather  the 
\viir  before,  in  October  1826,  was  incorporated  Avith  a  capital  of 
$50,000,  and  went  into  operation  in  1827,  under  the  Presidency 
of JTon.  Elijah  Paine,  who  was  succeeded  by  James  IT.  Langdon, 
Timothy  Hubbard  and  John  Spalding  ;  Thomas  Reed,  C.  R. 
Cleaves  and  George  Howes  having  been  the  Cashiers.  It  was 
reehartered  with  a  capital  of  $75,000  in  1840,  and  the  charter 
extended  in  185->. 


128  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELTER. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CONCLUDING  VIEW  OF  THE  VILLAGE  FOR  THE  PERIOD  FROM  1800 
TO  1830. — STATE  OF  MORALS  AND  THEIR  REFORMATION. — TRADE, 
ITS  IRREGULARITIES  AND  REFORMATION.  — THE  MONEY  MAKING 
PERIOD  OF  THE  VILLAGE,  ETC. 

HAVING  thus,  in  the  three  or  four  preceding  chapters,  noted 
the  principal  events,  the  starting  of  new  and  peculiar  enterprises 
and  the  establishment  of  new  institutions,  marking  the  history  of 
the  town,  during  what  may  properly  enough  be  called  its  second 
period,  extending  from  1800  to  1830,  we  will  now  return  for  a. 
cursory  view  of  the  condition  of  its  society  in  the  interim,  its 
moral  progress  and  reforms,  and  the  progress  and  reforms  of  its 
trade  and  manufactures. 

A  village  is  like  a  school  of  children  and  youth.  When  the 
school  is  small,  it  is  an  easy  task  to  preserve  order  and  good 
behavior.  The  few  who  may  be  viciously  inclined  are,  as  in  a 
family  circle,  immediately  confronted  by  an  equal  or  greater 
number  of  those  of  an  opposite  character,  by  whom  they  are 
restrained  from  exposing  their  secret  propensities,  either  in  their 
own  acts  or  in  tempting  the  few  others  at  hand  of  the  intermedi 
ate  class,  whose  facile  characters  might  otherwise  render  them 
obnoxious  to  bad  influences ;  so  that  the  voice  of  authority  is 
scarcely  needed  to  restrain  the  free  inclinations  of  the  general l\ 
well  disposed  little  group,  in  preserving  order  and  ensuring  good 
and  virtuous  conduct.  But  when  that  school  is  swelled  into 
large  numbers,  the  viciously  inclined,  measurably  freed  from  the 
immediate  restraining  presence  of  the  good,  and  finding  more  of 
the  like  evil  propensities  to  countenance  them,  and  more  of  the 
facile,  whom  they  can  covertly  draw  into  their  train,  still  further 
to  strengthen  and  give  them  courage  in  misconduct,  this  school  - 
house  community  soon  becomes  filled  with  confusion  and  projects 
of  mischief  or  vice,  which  demand  a  strong  reforming  hand  to 
bring  it  into  the  condition  required  for  its  own  good,  and  to  pre 
vent  it,  indeed,  from  falling  into  a  state  of  utter  disorder  and 
ruin. 

And  so  it  was  of  the  village — not  the  whole  town — of  Mont- 
pelier,  during  the  forepart  of  the  period  now  under  considera 
tion. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  129 

As  the  village  increased  in  numbers,  and  the  prospect  became 
more  and  more  certain,  that  it  would  become  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  important  places  in  the  State,  it  was  constantly  receiv 
ing  large  accessions,  not  only  from  mechanics  and  tradesmen, 
who  were  willing  to  get  their  living  by  honest  industry,  but  from 
quite  as  many,  perhaps,  who  came  to  make  their  living  out  of 
others,  by  the  unscrupulous  exercise  of  such  means  as  should  be 
found  best  calculated  to  effect  the  object.  Among  these,  to  be 
sure,  were  many  who  were  not  vicious  in  their  habits,  and  who 
adopted  unscrupulous  means  only  to  accomplish  their  objects  of 
ambition,  in  the  acquisition  of  wealth  or  to  reach  positions  were 
they  could  lord  it  over  others  ;  but  among  them,  also,  were  many 
who  came  to  make  enough  only  to  indulge  depraved  appetites 
and  seduce  enough  others  to  make  them  the  victims  of  their 
designs,  or  the  companions  of  their  vices — the  one  being  neces 
sary  to  support  them  in  their  courses,  and  the  other  to  keep  them 
in  countenance  and  prevent  them  from  being  singled  out  for  par 
ticular  marks  of  reproach  by  the  virtuous  part  of  community. 

And  from  the  natural  operation  of  all  these  agencies,  it  was 
not  long  before  the  industrious  and  orderly  first  settlers  and 
founders  of  the  town,  found  their  village  in  a  rapid  process  of 
moral  deterioration.  The  taverns  became  common  and  constant 
resorts,  inviting  to  idleness,  money  spending,  and  all  sorts  of  dis 
sipation.  Rum  drinking  rapidly  increased,  bringing  along  with 
it  the  usual  train  of  street  broils,  acrimonious  quarrels  and  keen 
litigations.  Gambling  was  a  common  practice  ;  libertinism  found 
but  too  many  victims  in  the  unsophisticated,  unsuspecting  and 
therefore  unguarded  female  community.  All  these  stained  the 
records  of  week  days,  while  the  sabbaths  were  generally  dese 
crated  by  horse  racing,  match  shooting,  street  games,  holly  day 
amusements,  visiting  and  pleasure  parties. 

It  needed  a  moral  Hercules  to  meet  and  grapple  with  these 
social  deformities,  which  were  so  nearly  threatening  both  the 
temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of  this  strangely  blinded  or  strange 
ly  thoughtless  village  community.  And  a  moral  and  religious 
Hercules  was  at  length  found  in  the  Reverend  Chester  Wright. 

A  movement  in  the  right  direction,  however,  had  previously 
been  made  by  a  small  band  of  the  more  religious  and  moral  men 
of  the  village  and  town,  who  met,  and  by  resolution  associated 
themselves  together,  under  mutual  pledges  to  take  all  due  and 
reasonable  measures  for  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  for 
getting  up  religious  meetings  on  that  day,  and,  whether  preach 
ing  was  to  be  obtained  or  not,  to  see  that  some  kind  of  religious 
exercises  were  performed,  and  that  their  influence  should  be  ex 
erted  to  secure  the  attendance  of  their  families  and  friends 

17 


180  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEH. 

And  in  the  winter  of  1808  Mr.  Wright  was  invited  to  spend  a 
short  period  here  in  preaching,  which  being  prolonged,  there 
was  formed,  in  connection  with  his  ministrations,  in  the  following 
July,  a  regular  Congregational  Church,  that  in  the  first  instance 
consisted  of  seventeen  members,  but  which  during  the  year  was 
increased  by  the  addition  of  a  dozen  more.  Mr.  Wright,  who  in 
the  meantime  had  received  a  call  by  this  church  and  society  to 
become  their  permanent  preacher,  was  ordained  according  to  the 
ecclesiastical  usages  of  the  denomination,  on  the  10th  of  August 
1809,  to  l>e  the  regular  pastor  of  their  church  and  people. 

From  this  time  the  church  and  congregation  steadily  increased  : 
religious  revivals  occurred  at  comparatively  brief  intervals : 
attention  to  religion  and  religious  institutions  became  predomi 
nant  in  the  public  mind  ;  the  arm  of  vice  became  more  and  more 
paralyzed,  her  votaries  more  and  more  abashed  and  scattered, 
open  immoralities  more  and  more  unfrequent,  until  the  village  of 
Montpelier,  redeemed  and  regenerated  through  the  blest  instru 
mentalities  of  the  affectionate  and  untiring  labors  of  the  devoted, 
self-sacrificing  and  high-souled  Father  Wright,  at  length  took 
its  stand  among  the  most  moral  and  orderly  communities  in  the 
State. 

While  the  moral  delinquencies  and  inequalities  of  which  we 
have  spoken  were  in  progress,  the  condition  and  character  of 
trade  and  traffic  were  fast  becoming  such  as  justly  to  incur,  ac 
cording  to  their  relative  importance,  an  almost  equal  reprobation 
and  to  demand  an  almost  equal  reformation.  The  profits  of 
trade  on  all  imported  articles  had  been  in  the  first  place  enor 
mous.  An  average  of  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent,  clear  profit 
was  probably  realized  on  the  sales  of  all  imported  goods  by  the 
merchants,  for  the  first  ten  years  after  stores  were  opened  in  the 
village.  Such  profits,  it  is  true,  were  gradually  lessened  by  the 
competition  created  by  incoming  traders,  who,  to  gain  their  share 
of  custom  and  distance  their  rivals,  would  put  their  wares  at  a 
lower  figure,  and  thus  compel  the  old  traders,  if  they  would  re 
tain  their  customers,  to  come  down  also.  But  what  the  buyers 
gained  in  price  was  too  often  lost  by  the  tricks  and  unfair  deal 
ings  of  the  sellers.  The  latter  in  their  avidity  to  make  up  for 
loss  of  profits  and  monopolize  custom,  would  sell  by  no  general 
or  established  rule,  and  abide  by  no  established  prices.  They 
traded,  to  use  the  cant  phrase  of  the  times,  as  they  u  could 
lig'ht  o*  chaps"  An  intelligent  and  influential  man  might  per 
haps  purchase  at  comparatively  reasonable  prices  ;  but  the  next 
uninformed  or  poor  man  would  be  made  to  make  up,  by  the  prices 
demanded,  what,  through  motives  of  policy,  had  been  conceded 
to  the  former.  Boys  and  girls  could  not  be  sent  to  trade  with 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  131 

the  merchants  without  the  liability  of  being  cheated.  Needy 
men,  who  could  not  command  the  money,  or  were  depending  on 
their  yet  ungrown  produce  to  pay  for  their  goods,  would  be 
\vhecdled  into  purchases  at  enormous  prices,  and  under  promise 
of  lenity  of  payment ;  and  within  a  month,  perhaps,  a  sheriff 
would  be  sent  after  them  to  attach  their  crops.  Sheriffs  and 
constables,  indeed,  in  the  employ  of  the  different  competing 
firms,  with  their  pockets  full  of  writs  and  executions,  wrere  al 
ways  on  the  alert,  and,  at  particular  seasons  of  the  year,  might 
be  seen,  thickly  as  the  Arabs  of  the  desert,  scouring  the  hills  to 
be  first  in  for  the  plunder,  or,  "  for  want  thereof,"  to  drag  the 
victims  to  jail  on  executions. 

Hut  while  the  character  of  trade  was  thus  reaching  its  worst 
pass,  a  man  was  growing  up  in  the  village  whose  good  fortune 
and  praise  it  was  to  be  the  chief  instrument  in  reforming  its 
abuses  and  irregularities.  That  man  was  James  H.  Langdon.  As 
soon  as  he  had  set  up  trade  for  himself,  which  was  about  the  year 
1807,  lie  established  for  his  store  the  one  price  system  ;  and 
while  he  determined  that  he  would  sell  his  goods  as  low  as  any 
others,  he  also  determined  that  the  poor  man  and  stranger  should 
faro  as  well  in  their  purchases  as  the  best  of  customers.  He  also 
at  once  wholly  repudiated  the  cruel  and  outrageous  system  of 
suing  and  grabbing  which  had  been  so  commonly  practiced  by 
the  merchants  in  the  place.  He  further  soon  reduced  trade,  in 
all  its  bearings  and  principles,  to  a  better,  and,  for  the  purchaser, 
a  far  safer  system  than  had  ever  before  here  prevailed.  And  in 
this  he  was  efficiently  aided  by  the  intelligent,  discriminating, 
and  upright  John  Barnard,  who  was  for  many  years  his  book 
keeper  and  chief  clerk,  and  who  eventually  became  his  partner. 
The  books  of  the  establishment  were  consequently  always  found 
correct,  the  prices  charged  exactly  corresponding  with  the  prices 
agreed  on  at  the  time  of  the  purchase.  All  this  the  people  were 
not  long  in  discovering.  To  their  surprise  and  gratification, 
they  soon  found  that  they  could  send  a  boy  or  girl,  or  any  indif 
ferent  person,  to  the  store,  and  obtain  as  good  bargains  as  could 
have  been  obtained  had  they  been  present  to  make  them  for 
themselves.  And  when  they  came  to  settle,  everything  on  the 
books  was  found  as  it  should  be,  and  no  reasonable  man  ever 
went  away  dissatisfied.  The  fruits  flowing  from  the  adoption  of, 
and  steady  adherence  to  such  a  system,  at  such  a  crisis,  were, 
before  long,  made  on  all  sides,  abundantly  manifest.  Custom 
from  all  classes  poured  in  to  Mr.  Langdon,  as  custom  never 
poured  in  to  any  merchant  in  this  part  of  the  country  before. 
Men  saw  that  he  was  conferring,  by  las  course,  a  public  benefit, 
and  preferred  to  trade  with  him,  not  only  for  their  own  safety 


132  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIEK. 

and  advantage,  but  to  reward  him  for  the  benefaction  thus  con 
ferred  on  community.  Nor  was  this  the  only  effect  and  public 
advantage,  arising  from  Mr.  Langdon's  commendable  system  and 
srenoral  fair  dealing.  All  other  merchants  and  traders  soon 
found  that  they  could  not  much  longer  secure  confidence  and 
patronage,  without  adopting  the  same  course  of  fair  and  liberal 
dealing,  and  the  same  regular  system.  And  the  result  was,  that 
in  a  few  years,  the  character  of  trade  underwent  a  revolution, 
and  the  mercantile  profession  became  thereafter  essentially  re 
formed  and  elevated. 

And  in  looking  back  on  events,  agencies  and  public  results, 
developed  during  this  period,  in  matters  connected  with  the 
most  important  interests  of  our  people,  morals  and  trade,  we 
cannot  help  regarding  Chester  Wright  and  James  H.  Langdon 
to  have  been,  in  their  respective  spheres  of  action,  and  through 
the  various  enduring  influences  they  exerted  while  living,  and 
their  examples  have  to  this  time  continued  to  exert  since  their 
death,  the  best  benefactors  the  town  of  Montpelier  has  been  so 
fortunate  as  ever  to  number  in  the  long  list  of  its  worthy  or  dis 
tinguished  citizens. 

The  period  of  which  we  have  been  treating  might  have  been 
properly  termed  the  transition  state  of  society,  alike  in  moral, 
mercantile  and  social  relations.  The  first  crude,  unassimilated 
elements,  had  all  the  while  been  gradually  arranging  themselves 
and  settling  down  into  fixed  and  permanent  conditions.  And 
during  the  last  half  dozen  years  of  that  period,  the  process  had 
been  in  a  great  measure  completed.  We  have  seen  how  the  mor 
al  and  religious  character  of  the  village  had  been  reformed  and 
put  on  a  new  and  respectable  footing.  We  have  seen  also  how 
the  character  of  trade  had  been  reformed,  systematized  and 
brought  under  the  government  of  more  legitimate  and  honorable 
principles.  Let  us  now  glance  at  a  few  of  the  most  important 
of  the  results  of  the  progress  made  under  these  improvements,  as 
they  stood  developed  at  the  end  of  that  period, in  the  year  18^0. 

The  Congregational  Church  had  become  large,  active  and  in 
fluential,  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  members  having  been 
admitted  under  the  ministrations  of  Mr.  Wright,  a  large  major 
ity  of  whom  were  then  resident,  living,  laboring  members.  A 
Methodist  Church,  respectable  in  numbers,  and  earnest  workers 
in  the  duties  of  their  profession,  had  also  become  firmly  estab 
lished  and  was  disseminating  its  good  influences.  Sabbath 
Schools,  under  the  auspices  of  both  these  churches,  had  been 
formed,  embracing  the  greater  part  of  the  children  and  youth  of 
the  village,  and  were  regularly  and  generally  well  attended. 
Societies  for  religious  and  benevolent  purposes,  had  been  estab- 


HISTORY    OF    3IONTPELIER,  133 

lished  and  were  effectually  prosecuting  the  objects  of  their  form 
ation.  The  animal  enjoyments,  boisterous  or  vicious  amusements 
of  the  former  times,  had  given  place  to  more  quiet,  virtuous  and 
rational  recreations  ;  and  the  refined  and  intellectual  were  now 
prevailing1  over  the  rough  and  sensual,  in  the  general  tone  of 
society.  A  Village  Library  of  several  hundred  well  selected 
volumes  had  been  established  in  1814  ;  and  a  Lyceum,  with  an 
other  and  still  more  choice  library,  had  been  started  in  1827,  and 
were  now  in  successful  operation,  affording  alike  instruction  and 
entertainment  to  all  classes  of  the  people,  continually  softening 
the  asperities  and  monopolizing  selfishness  of  the  businesslike 
character  of  the  place,  and  diffusing  beneficent  and  elevating  in 
fluences,  not  only  through  our  village  community,  but  to  a  good 
extent,  over  all  the  surrounding  communities  of  the  county  and 
state. 

And  while  all  that  goes  to  make  up  good  and  enlightened 
society  had  been  so  favorably  progressing,  trade  and  all  kinds  of 
legitimate  business  had  been  making  an  equal  or  greater  pro 
gress  and  increase.  There  \vere  now,  besides  the  several  small 
er  and  less  permanent  ones,  eight  extensive,  well  established 
mercantile  firms  or  individual  establishments  for  retail  of  dry 
iroods  and  groceries,  whose  annual  sales  amounted  to  from 
twenty  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  apiece,  making  an  aggregate  of 
sales,  with  those  of  the  smaller  concerns  in  the  place,  of  the 
probable  amount  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  a 
vear  alone.  This  was  on  the  sales  only  of  articles  imported  ; 
and  if  to  this  were  added  the  amount  of  the  sales  of  produce  and 
other  articles  exported,  that  sum  would  have  doubtless  been 
swelled  to  nearly  a  half  million  of  dollars.  This  was  the  golden 
period  for  trade  in  Montpelier.  Railroads  had  not  then  been 
built,  to  revolutionize  trade,  and  form  direct  communication  be 
tween  the  cities  and  the  larger  farmers  and  the  small  stores  or 
leading  posts  scattered  over  the  neighboring  country.  Montpe 
lier  then  commanded  nearly  all  the  trade  for  a  distance  of  about 
twenty  miles  in  extent  in  every  direction  around,  and  a  good  pro 
portion  of  it  for  nearly  double  that  distance.  The  profits  were 
still  large,  trade  was  not  then  overdone  by  competition,  and  the 
amount  of  it  for  such  an  interior  village  was  immense.  And  it 
was  during  that  period  that  the  present  fine  capital  of  the  village 
was  mainly  acquired.  James  H.  Langdon  alone,  within  a  space 
of  twenty  years,  rolled  up  a  fortune  of  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  certainly  no  fortune  was  ever  more 
fairly  acquired. 

But  the  class  of  stores  we  have  named  by  no  means  embraced 
all  the  business  establishments  of  the  place.  One  or  more  book 


134  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEK. 

and  stationery  stores  and  drug  stores,  for  the  last  twenty  years, 
were  always  maintained,  shoe-stores,  tin  and  iron  ware  stores, 
hatting  factories  and  stores,  and  grocery  establishments,  had 
long  been  in  operation  to  make  out  the  lull  variety  of  trade  and 
business  generally  to  be  found  in  the  largest  class  of  interior 
villages. 

An  extensive  tannery  had  been  established  as  early  as  180H 
by  Silas  Cobb,  who  was  succeeded  after  a  few  years,  by  Elijah 
Witherell,  who  carried  on  the  business  for  a  much  longer  period, 
on  the  same  ground  latterly  occupied  by  the  more  extensive 
tannery  of  Keith  &  Peck.  A  cotton  factory  in  1810  had  been 
fitted  up  in  the  old  Oil  Mill  built  by  Lamed  Lamb  five  years 
before,  on  the  Montpelier  side  of  the  river  falls,  though  it  was 
destroyed  by  lire  near  the  close  of  the  year  1813.  A  Paper  Mill 
had  been  previously  built  on  the  same  falls  and  kept  in  opera 
tion  by  the  elder  Silas  Burbank,  till  1818  ;  when  that  also  was 
burned,  with  Richardson's  Clothing  Works,  but  before  many 
years  rebuilt  and  carried  on  a  long  time  by  Goss  £  Cobb,  who 
sold  out  to  E.  P.  Walton  &  Sons.  A  Woolen  Factory  had  been 
built  about  1820,  by  Araunah  Waterman  and  Seth  Persons,  on 
the  North  Branch  Falls,  and  kept  in  successful  operation  by 
them  until  that  likewise  was  unfortunately  destroyed  by  fire,  in 
March  1826.  Clothiers,  Wheelwrights,  Cabinet-Ware,  Black 
smiths,  Painters,  Goldsmiths,  and  all  other  Mechanics'  shops, 
needed  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people,  might  have  then  been 
found,  in  short,  still  further  to  swell  the  business  and  increase 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  stirring  and  ambitious  village. 

There  were  at  this  time  six  or  seven  different  lines  of  daily, 
tri-weekly,  or  semi-weekly  stages  coming  into  this  place.  The 
stage  on  the  great  thoroughfare  from  Boston  to  Burlington  and 
Montreal,  drawn  by  four,  and  often  six  superb  horses,  and  every 
way  finely  equipped,  run  by  that  justly  noted  stage  contractor 
and  hotel  keeper,  Mahlon  Cottrill,  (  whose  horses  and  stage 
equipments  were  doubtless  the  finest  ever  known  in  New  Eng 
land,)  arrived,  heavily  loaded  down  with  passengers,  every  day 
from  Boston  and  Burlington,  making,  in  fact,  two  arrivals  of 
stages  on  the  same  day  on  this  important  line.  A.  stage  from 
Barton,  and  another  from  Danville,  arrived  here  every  other  day  : 
while  stages  from  Johnson,  Topsham,  Chelsea  and  Waitsfield  ar 
rived  at  least  twice  a  week.  Most  of  these  staid  over  night,  and 
all  long  enough  to  dine  their  passengers.  These  stages  conse 
quently  brought  a  large  and  constant  influx  of  the  more  monied 
class  of  people,  who  tarried  in  the  place  at  least  long  enough  to 
leave  considerable  sums  of  money  every  week,  not  only  with  the 
hotel  keepers,  but  with  the  merchants  and  traders,  in  the  various 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

purchases  which  necessity  or  fancy  might  prompt  them  to  make 
while  in  the  place.  All  this,  with  the  continual  arrivals  and  de 
partures  along  all  the  principal  roads  of  large  baggage  teams, 
coming  in  with  produce  or  returning  with  heavy  articles  of  mer 
chandise,  combined  to  make,  when  added  to  our  usual  business, 
very  lively  and  prosperous  times  for  the  village  of  Montpelier — 
fiir  more  lively,  and  even,  we  had  almost  said,  far  more  pros 
perous  than  they  have  ever  been  since  the  opening  of  the 
railroad,  which  she  had  so  drained  herself  in  aiding  to  put  in 
operation. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

XF\V     INSTITUTIONS     ESTABLISHED     BETWEEN     1830     AND     I860  :— 
FOUNDEKY,      FACTORIES,     BANKS,     INSURANCE     COMPANIES,     TELE- 
(iRAPH  ANU  EXPRESS  OFFICES,  FIRE  DEPARTMENT,  NEW  CEMETERY, 

rxioN  SCHOOL.  —  OPENING  OF  RAILROADS,  AND  THEIR  EFFECTS: 

AND    THE    DIVISION    OF    THE    TOWN. 

WE  now  come  to  the  last  period  into  which,  for  convenience 
of  arrangement,  we  have  divided  this  town  history.  And  we 
will  endeavor  to  take  up  in  chronological  order  the  principal  new 
enterprises,  improvements  and  public  institutions  which  were 
carried  out  and  established  between  1830  and  1860,  but  which 
have  been  left  uudescribed,  or  have  been  only  incidentally  men 
tioned  in  the  course  of  this  work. 

An  extensive  Iron  Foundery  and  Forge  was  erected  and  put. 
iu  operation,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Branch  Falls,  in  1832, 
by  Alfred  Wainwright,  then  late  from  the  Foundery  firm  of  the 
Wainwright  Brothers  in  Middlebury.  A  good  and  profitable 
business  was  done  at  the  Foundery  in  this  village  by  Mr.  Alfred 
Wainwright  for  many  years,  and  nearly  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1852  ;  when  the  establishment  passed  into  other  hands, 
and,  in  connection  with  a  Machine  Shop,  has  been  continued 
under  various  new  proprietors  to  the  present  time. 

A  large  Woolen  Factory,  in  a  three  story  building,  about 
eighty  by  forty  feet,  built  for  the  purpose,  was  put  in  operation, 


136  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

also  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  same  falls,  in  1837-8,  by  Horatio 
N.  Baylies,  who,  alone  or  in  company  with  C.  W.  Storrs,  carried 
on  here  quite  an  extensive  business  in  woolen  manufactures, 
employing  twenty  or  thirty  hands  ;  when,  the  establishment  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Wilder  and  son,  and  later  into  the 
hands  of  that  son,  Artemas  W.  Wilder,  and  an  uncle  in  Massa 
chusetts,  by  whom  it  was  converted  into  the  largest  lumber  manu 
facturing  establishment  ever  existing  in  town,  and  still  remains 
so  under  the  management  of  the  new  firm  of  Wilder  &  Wheeler. 

An  extensive  Woolen  Factory ,  with  all  the  accompaniments 
for  carding  wool,  picking,  dying,  etc.,  was  established,  in  1831', 
by  Maj.  Nathaniel  Davis,  an  early  settler  and  relative  of  Col. 
.Jacob  Davis,  on  the  falls  on  Kingsbury  Branch  at  North  Mont- 
pelier.  The  buildings  were  large  and  extensive,  the  chief  one 
being  three  hundred  feet  long  and  three  stories  high.  A  large 
number  of  hands,  male  and  female,  were  employed,  and  for  some 
years  an  apparently  prosperous  business  was  done  ;  when  a  gen 
tleman  from  a  neighboring  town,  of  more  pretensions  and  extrav 
agance  than  fitness  lor  the  business,  or  integrity  of  character, 
bought  himself  into  the  company,  and  the  consequence  was  its 
speedy  failure,  and  the  almost  total  ruin  of  the  fine  estate  which 
Major  Davis  had  been  a  life-time  accumulating  by  Ids  honest  in 
dustry.  After  this,  tlic  establishment  went  into  the  hands  of 
Judge  William  Martin,  for  creditors  or  himself,  and  somewhere 
about  1850  was  purchased  by  the  enterprising  and  business-like 
Walter  Little,  who  soon  put  the  establishment  on  a  prosperous 
and  productive  fooling,  which,  by  his  good  management,  he  con 
tinued  not  only  to  sustain  but  yearly  to  improve,  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1858  ;  when  the  concern  went  into  the  hands  of 
his  son,  by  whom  it  is  still  conducted. 

This  important  manufacturing  establishment,  together  with 
the  stores,  post-office,  common  mills,  and  the  shops  of  the  various 
mechanics,  that  have  been  latterly  springing  up  there,  has  made 
North  Montpelier  a  thrifty  little  village  of  several  hundred  in 
habitants,  and  the  centre  of  quite  a  handsome  amount  of  busi 
ness.  Long  previous  to  the  establishment  of  this  factory,  as  we 
should  perhaps  have  before  stated,  Major  Davis,  for  many  years, 
carried  on  an  extensive  business  as  a  merchant  at  his  residence 
in  the  vicinity  of  that  village,  and  his  store  and  house  were,  at 
one  time,  a  fashionable  resort  for  trade  and  visiting,  for  a  large 
tract  of  the  surrounding  country,  including  even  to  a  considera 
ble  extent,  the  great  village  of  Montpelier.  And  we  should 
have  also  stated  that,  at  the  falls  of  North  Montpelier,  Mr.  Arna- 
sa  Bancroft,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town,  who  died  about 
1817,  established  the  first  forge  for  working  iron  by  trip-ham- 


HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIER.  1:>7 

nier  ever  erected  within  the  town  of  Montpelier,  or  ;is  far  as  we 
know,  within  the  present  limits  of  Washington  county. 

A  very  pretty  and  thriving  little  village  has  also,  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  been  springing  up  round  the  falls  of  the  Win- 
ooski,  at  the  place  formerly  known  a#  Daggett's  Mills,  and  lat 
terly  as  the  village  of  East  Montpelier.  Here,  for  many  years, 
a  Post  Office  has  been  established  and  continued,  a  store,  tavern, 
and  several  mechanic  shops  have  been  sustained,  which,  with 
the  mills  of  a  longer  standing,  have  made  this  place,  likewise, 
one  of  considerable  importance  in  the  town. 

At  the  place  now  known  as  Wright's  Mills,  on  the  falls  of  the 
North  Branch,  three  miles  above  Montpelier  village,  which  fur 
nish  the  most  safe  and  efficient  water-power  on  that  stream,  and 
one  of  the  most  advantageous  to  be  found  on  any  stream  in  the 
county,  another  little  village  lias  latterly  been  springing  into  ex 
istence.  These  remarkable  falls  have  thus  far  been  improved 
only  by  the  Machine  Shop  and  Mills  of  Mcdad  Wright,  Esq. 
But  capital  is  only  wanting  to  make  this  a  place  of  great  busi 
ness  ;  for  a  supply  of  water  might  here  be  taken  from  the  mill- 
pond  in  a  flume  or  canal  and  safely  extended  down  along  the 
bank  of  the  Branch,  sufficient,  in  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  to 
accommodate  a  line  of  factories  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and 
drive  ten  times  ten  thousand  spindles. 

The  Vermont  Bank,  the  second  institution  of  the  kind  estab 
lished  in  Montpelier  village,  and  therefore  indicative  of  the  in 
creasing  amount  of  business  in  this  and  the  surrounding  commu 
nities,  was  incorporated  November  11,  1848,  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $100,000,  divisible  into  two  thousand  shares,  and  the  sub 
scriptions  therefor  to  be  opened  within  six  months,  under  the 
directions  of  Daniel  Baldwin,  Julius  Y.  Dewey  and  Edward  l\. 
Prentiss  of  Montpelier,  David  P.  Noyes  of  Morristown,  John  A. 
Page  of  Danville,  George  W.  Collamer  of  Barre,  and  Roderick- 
Richardson  of  Waitsfield.  And  the  aforesaid  commissioners 
having,  in  the  early  part  of  1849,  opened  the  subscription  books 
and  allotted  the  shares  among  the  subscribers,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  the  act  of  incorporation,  the  Banking  Company 
was  organized  by  the  choice  of  a  Board  of  Directors,  of  whom 
Ifezekiah  H.  Reed  was  appointed  President.  Mr.  Reed's  suc 
cessors  have  been  George  W.  Collamer  and  Roderick  Richard 
son,  both  now  for  many  years  residents  of  Montpelier,  and  the 
latter  being  now  the  incumbent  of  the  office  in  question  :  while 
John  A.  Page  was  from  the  first  appointed  the  Cashier,  and  has 
been  continued  in  the  office  uninterruptedly  to  the  present  time. 
This  Bank  has  ever  done  a  prosperous  business,  and  has  generally 
been  able  to  boast  of  as  clear  a  record  as  an  bank  in  the  State 


188  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

The  8tate  Bank  was  organized,  at  Montpelier,  under  the  gen 
eral  banking  law,  April  3, 1858,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000,  and 
put  in  operation  on  the  5th  day  of  the  May  following.  Of  this 
Bank  James  R.  Langdon  has  thus  far  been  the  President,  and  is 
understood  to  be  the  principal  owner  of  the  stock.  The  redemp 
tion  of  the  bills  is  well  insured  by  deposits  with  the  State  Treas 
ury,  of  Vermont  six  per  cent  bonds,  mortgages  and  United  States 
Treasury  notes.  But  the  circulation  has  not  been  permitted  to 
be  large,  and  it  may  not  be  intended  for  a  permanent  institution. 

The  National  Life  Insurance  Company  was  incorporated 
November  13,  1848,  with  a  capital,  at  first,  of  §100,000,  but 
which,  by  an  amendment  of  the  act  of  incorporation,  in  184(->, 
was  reduced  to  $50,000,  and  the  company  located  at  Montpelier. 
The  company  was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1850.  by  the  elec 
tion  of  Hon.  William  C.  Kittridge  of  Fairhaven,  President,  who 
held  the  office  about  one  year,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Julius 
Y.  Dewey  of  Montpelier,  who  has  ever  since  been  the  President. 
The  first  regularly  appointed  Secretary,  who,  by  the  usages  of 
such  institutions  is  also  made  the  Treasurer,  was  Roger  S.  How 
ard  of  Thetford,  who  resigning  was  the  same  year  succeeded  by 
.James  T.  Thurston  ;  and  he,  in  turn  resigning,  was  succeeded  by 
(reorge  W.  Reed,  who  has  ever  since  held  the  office. 

The  number  of  policies  which,  to  the  present  time,  have  been 
issued  by  this  successful  Company  are  2,644,  insuring  lives  on 
amounts  from  $500  to  $10,000.  The  number  of  policies  in 
force  Jan.  1, 1860,  was  1,150,  insuring  the  amount  of  $1,754,290. 
The  whole  amount  insured  from  first  to  last  is  $3,490,047.  The 
whole  capital  and  accumulations  are  $250,000. 

The  number  of  policies  issued  each  year  has,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  1858 — following  the  commercial  revulsions  attending  the 
close  of  1857 — gone  on  steadily  increasing,  and  the  institution 
promises  to  become  one  of  still  greater  prosperity  and  impor 
tance. 

The  Vermont  and  Boston  Telegraph  Company  was  also  incor 
porated  at  the  October  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1848,  and  a, 
station  established  at  Montpelier,  in  connexion  with  an  Express 
office  of  Cheney  $•  Co.,  of  Boston.  The  Telegraph  and  Express 
otfice  was  accordingly  opened  the  next  year  in  the  Montpelier 
Railroad  Depot ;  and  the  two  enterprises  have  ever  since  been 
in  successful  operation,  and  doing  an  increasing  business,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  H.  D.  Hopkins,  the  Express  Agent  at  this 
place. 

The  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  located  at 
Montpelier,  was  incorporated  November  13th,  1849,  and  that 
dav,  November  14th,  1849,  duly  organized  by  the  election  of 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  139 

Hon.  Azel  Spalding,  President,  and  the  Hon.  Joseph  Poland, 
Secretary,  and  Samuel  Wells,  Esq.,  Treasurer.  Mr.  Spalding 
held  the  office  about  three  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  William 
Howes,  who  removing  from  town  in  1853,  was  succeeded  by  the 
Hon.  George  W.  Bailey,  of  Middlesex,  the  present  incumbent. 
There  have  been  no  changes  thus  far  in  the  offices  of  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  Mr.  Poland  and  Mr.  Wells  having  retained  their 
respective  offices,  and  had  the  chief  management  of  the  concerns 
of  the  company  up  to  the  present  time. 

The  whole  number  of  policies  issued  by  the  company  is  26,340. 
The  whole  amount  now  at  risk  is,  in  round  numbers,  about  $13,- 
000,000 ;  the  amount  of  premium  notes  now  inforce  is  $568,807  27. 
Besides  a  gradual  and  health}-  increase  from  the  outset,  the 
books  of  this  company  show  an  amount  of  insurance  business  for 
the  past  year  of  1858,  nearly  double  that  of  the  previous  one. 
They  have  therefore  good  reason  for  considering  their  Institu 
tion  a  success,  the  extent  and  safety  of  which  is  demonstrated 
by  the  statistics  they  are  able  to  show,  as  above  given. 

The  Green  Mountain  Mutual  Health  Association,  located  at 
Montpelier,  was  incorporated  November,  1851,  and  was  organ 
ized  the  following  winter  by  the  choice  of  F.  F.  Merrill,  Presi 
dent,  Seth  Thompson,  Secretary,  and  Dr.  Oren  Smith,  then  of 
Montpelier,  later  Professor  in  the  Medical  School  at  Burlington, 
and  now  of  Chicago,  the  examining  physician  of  the  company. 
But  it  did  not  prove  very  successful,  on  account  of  the  want  of 
patronage  among  the  healthy  and  honestly  industrious,  and  the 
multiplicity  of  petty  frauds  practiced  upon  it  by  the  dishonest 
unhealthy  and  lazy  ;  and  after  it  had  been  in  operation  a  year  or 
two  the  whole  enterprise  was  abandoned. 

The  Fire  Department.  In  1814  the  first  Fire  Company  was 
organized  in  town,  the  sum  of  $380  raised  by  subscription  among 
the  citizens  of  the  village  for  the  purpose,  and  an  engine  and 
hose  purchased.  In  1835  another  company  was  formed,  and 
a  second  engine  purchased.  And  in  1837  a  third  engine  was 
purchased,  with  about  eight  hundred  feet  of  hose  ;  and  a  third 
company  was  organized  to  man  it,  with  a  hook  and  ladder  com 
pany  to  act  generally.  About  this  time  the  whole  Fire  Depart 
ment  was  reorganized,  and  placed  under  the  direction  of  the 
Hon.  Daniel  Baldwin,  who  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer.  Mr. 
Baldwin  acted  in  this  capacity  many  years,  and,  at  length  re 
signing  the  responsible  post,  was  succeeded  by  Carlos  Bancroft, 
who  in  1852  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Almon  A.  Mead,  who  has 
ever  since  been  the  efficient  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Department. 
In  January,  1860,  two  large  Button  engines  were  purchased, 
and  companies  organized  to  manage  them. 


140  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIEK. 

The  Fire  Department  of  this  village  has  been  eminently  sue 
cessful,  and  has  unquestionably  already  been  instrumental  in 
saving  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  of  property.  And 
now,  with  its  five  engines,  nearly  two  thousand  feet  of  hose,  lad 
ders  and  all  other  needful  equipments,  and  with  its  almost  three 
hundred  firemen  to  work  and  manage  them,  is  probably  the  best 
and  most  efficient  Fire  Department  in  the  State. 

G-reen  Mount  Cemetery,  lying  on  the  northerly  bank  of  the 
Winooski,  about  one  mile  below  the  center  of  Montpelier  village, 
was  established  and  prepared  for  use  in  the  years  1854-5.  The 
act  establishing  it,  and  vesting  its  superintendence  and  manage 
ment,  at  the  outset,  in  a  Board  of  five  Commissioners,  was  passed 
at  the  October  session  of  the  Legislature  of  1854.  The  act  was 
accepted  by  the  town  at  their  March  Meeting  in  1855,  and  .#5000 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  first  Board  of  Commissioners,  who, 
by  the  terms  of  the  act,  were  made  appointable  by  the  town, 
and  were  now  made  to  consist  of  Elisha  P.  Jewett,  Hczekiah 
il.  Reed,  Charles  Reed,  James  T.  Thurstori  and  George  Lang- 
don.  During  the  spring  and  summer  ensuing,  the  work  of  en 
closing,  laying  out,  grading  and  ornamenting  the  grounds, 
purchased  of  Isaiah  Silver  for  the  sum  of  $1,210,  and  consisting 
of  about  forty  acres  of  land,  was  so  vigorously  prosecuted,  un 
der  the  directions  of  Mr.  Daniel  Brime  of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  and 
Mr.  Patrick  Farrelly,  the  first  and  second  engineers,  both  acting 
under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  Commissioners,  that  the 
Cemetery  was  deemed  sufficiently  completed  to  open  it  for  dedi 
cation  and  use  on  the  15th  of  September,  1855. 

The  origin  of  this  beautifully  located  and  singularly  variegated 
Cemetery  is  to  be  found  in  the  will  of  the  late  Calvin  J.  Keith, 
Esq.,  of  Montpelier,  who  died  on  the  23d  of  September,  1858. 
Mr.  Keith,  a  single  man,  who  had  acquired  a  handsome  fortune 
in  his  profession  of  the  law  and  settling  estates  at  the  South, 
had  made  his  will,  by  which,  with  bequests  of  money,  gold 
watches  and  other  valuable  keepsakes  to  his  numerous  circle  of 
particular  personal  friends,  and  liberal  sums  for  parsonages,  the 
Sabbath  School  libraries  of  the  churches  of  Montpelier  and  Bar- 
re,  and  for  the  library  of  the  Washington  County  Grammar 
School,  he  bequeathed  the  sum  of  "  One  thousand  dollars, 
to  be  expended  in  purchasing  a  suitable  place  for  a  burial 
ground  in  Montpelier,  and  in  enclosing  and  planting  trees  in  the 
same  ;  and  request  that  my  executors  and  Constant  W.  Storrs 
be  Trustees  of  the  same,  and  lay  out  the  ground  into  lots,  and 
dispose  of  the  same  at  reasonable  prices,  reserving  a  portion  to 
be  given  gratuitously  to  the  poor." 

This  bequest  was  executed  in  the  manner  above  described,  as 


HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER.  141 

was  also  another  appropriation  made  by  the  testator,  in  connec 
tiori  with  his  above  named  bequest,  of  $500  for  a  monument  to 
himself,  to  be  erected  by  his  executors  ;  and  accordingly  a  chaste 
and  handsome  monument  now  adorns  the  central  and  front  part 
of  the  grounds,  suitably  inscribed  to  him  personally  on  one  face, 
and  on  the  other  designating  him  as  the  originator  of  the  Cem 
etery. 

The  Cemetery  was  dedicated  on  the  15th  day  of  September, 
1855,  by  a  set  of  exercises  prepared  for  the  occasion — all  orig 
inal,  all  prepared  by  citizens  of  Montpelier,  and  all  of  a  high 
order  of  excellence.  These  were  a  chant  written  by  Mr.  H.  D. 
Hopkins,  and  performed  by  the  musical  choir  led  by  him  ;  read 
ing  of  appropriate  passages  of  Scripture  by  Rev.  F.  D.  Hernen- 
\vay,  Minister  of  the  Methodist  Society ;  prayer  by  Rev.  W.  H . 
Lord,  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Society  ;  address  by  Rev. 
F.  W.  Shelton,  Rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church :  presentation 
of  deeds  by  H.  H.  Reed,  Esq.  ;  dedication  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Lord  ; 
and  an  original  hymn  by  Charles  G.  Eastman,  Esq.,  sung  to  the 
tune  of  Old  Hundred.  This  hymn  is  so  fine  in  conception,  and 
so  neat  and  beautiful  in  execution,  that  it  cannot  but  make  an 
acceptable  close  to  our  remarks  on  this  subject. 

* 

"  This  fairest  spot  of  hill  and  gladt. 

Where  blooms  the  flower  and  waves  the  tree, 
And  silver  streams  delight  the  shade. 
We  consecrate,  O  Death,  to  thee. 

Here  all  the  months  the  year  may  know 

Shall  watch  this  '  Eden  of  the  Dead,' 
To  wreathe  with  flowers  or  crown  with  SHOW 

The  dreamless  sleeper's  narrow  bed. 

And  when  above  its  graves  we  kneel. 

Resigning  to  the  mouldering  urn 
The  friends  whose  silent  hearts  shall  feel 

Xo  balmy  summer's  glad  return  : 

Each  marble  shaft  our  hands  may  rear. 

To  mark  where  dust  to  dust  is  given, 
Shall  lift  its  chiselled  column,  here, 

To  point  our  tearful  eyes  to  Heaven." 

The  new  Union  District  School  House  and  Academy  building 
was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1858,  and  completed  early  in 
the  summer  of  1859,  under  the  constant  personal  superin ten 
dance  of  the  Hon.  Roderick  Richardson.  The  edifice  is  about 
one  hundred  feet  long  by  forty-five,  in  the  main  body  of  the 
building;  with  a  central  projection  in  front  setting  out  twelve 
ieet  in  width,  extending  thirty-three  feet  in  length,  and  rising  to 
the  same  height  as  the  rest  of  the  structure.  It  is  three  stories 
high  above  the  basement,  which  is  of  granite,  while  the  whole 


142  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEK. 

superstructure  is  of  brick,  with  cast  iron  window  caps  and  other 
ornaments,  the  whole  making  an  unusually  handsome  and  impos 
ing  exterior.  The  two  first  occupied  floors  are  divided  each  in 
to  four  more  or  less  extensive  school  rooms,  and  the  upper  one 
is  devoted  to  a  large  hall  for  general  examinations  or  other  pub 
lic  exercises,  connected  with  the  Union  School  or  the  Academy. 
The  whole  building,  with  its  furnishing,  cost  nineteen  thousand 
dollars." 

While  the  building  was  in  progress,  the  four  common  school 
districts,  acting  under  powers  granted  by  a  general  statute 
some  years  ago,  for  the  purpose,  united  and  organized  one  Un 
ion  School  District,  with  the  object  of  establishing  a  graded  and 
High  School,  to  be  kept  in  the  new  building,  each  district,  how 
ever,  retaining  its  old  organization.  And  about  the  first  of  Sep 
tember,  1859,  the  new  institution  was  put  in  operation  in  the 
the  new  school  house,  together  with  the  Washington  County 
Grammar  School,  the  latter  occupying  distinct  and  separate 
apartments,  and  remaining,  as  heretofore,  under  distinct  and  in 
dependent  teachers. 

All  the  scholars  of  the  village,  numbering,  with  those  coming 
in  from  abroad,  about  four  hundred  on  an  average,  have  thus  far 
attended  in  the  different  graded  departments,  and  in  the  Gram 
mar  School.  There  are  now  in  employ  eight  different  teachers 
in  the  whole  establishment,  two  in  the  Grammar  School  and 
six  in  the  Union  School,  all  well  qualified  and  competent  for 
their  respective  posts,  and  combining  to  furnish,-  from  the  most 
primitive,  to  the  highest  and  most  classical  studies,  facilities  for 
education  scarcely  exceeded  by  any  schools,  except  the  Colleges, 
in  the  whole  of  New  England.  Among  the  first  movers  of  this 
ji-reat  project  was  the  late  H.  EL  Reed,  Esq.,  who  left  one  thou 
sand  dollars  for  such  a  purpose  ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Ceme 
tery,  the  impulse  thus  given  was  doubtless  not  a  little  instrumen 
tal  in  causing  the  work  to  be  prosecuted  to  its  final  triumphant 
accomplishment. 

The  Vermont  Central  and  oilier  Railroad*  may  now  demand 
our  consideration,  so  far  as  they  have  operated  to  affect  and 
change  the  amount  and  character  ofsthe  business  of  the  town. 

The  Vermont  Central  Railroad  was  commenced  in  184t>  and 
opened  for  travel  and  freight,  from  Connecticut  river  to  Bur 
lington,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1849.  The  only  other 
Railroad  that  can  have  much  affected  our  business  relations,  is 
the  Connecticut  River  and  Passumpsic,  which  was  opened  two 
years  afterwards. 

Ten  years  before  the  Vermont  Central  Railroad  was  com 
menced,  there  was  not  probably  one  man  in  a  thousand  in  the 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELTER.  143 

State,  who  could  have  been  brought  to  believe  that  a  railroad 
could,  or  at  least  ever  would,  be  constructed  through  this,  the 
heart  of  the  Green  Mountains.  And  now  it  is  difficult  to  tell 
how  soon  that  object  would  have  been  accomplished,  but  for  the 
long  continued,  untiring  exertions  and  indomitable  energy  of 
one  man,  the  late  Governor  Charles  Paine.  And  even  after  the 
practicability  of  the  object  was  demonstrated  by  surveys,  the 
stock  would  never  have  been  taken  but  for  the  great  miscalcula 
tions  which  the  railroad  men  of  that  .day  appear  to  have  made 
respecting  the  vast  expense  required  to  build  a  railroad  through 
such  a  mountainous  country  as  this,  and  but  for  the  almost 
equally  great  miscalculations  of  the  expense  continually  requir 
ed  for  the  repairs  and  the  running  of  the  road  after  it  was  finish 
ed.  On  the  calculations  then  presented,  it  appeared  to  be  dem 
onstrated  that  the  stock  would  be  a  profitable  investment ;  and 
it  was  therefore  taken  with  the  double  object  of  benefiting  the 
country  and  making  money.  But  experience  has  shown  that  the 
calculations  then  made  were  strangely  fallacious,  and  that  the 
expense  not  only  of  construction,  but  of  repairs  of  the  road,  ma 
chinery  and  running,  were  nearly  double  what  had  been  estimat 
ed.  The  Central  Road  was  no  doubt  built  at  a  great  disadvan 
tage  by  borrowing  money  at  high  rates  of  interest  and  large 
sums  as  undoubtedly  uselessly  expended  on  pieces  of  the  road 
partially  wrought,  found  impracticable  and  abandoned.  But  all 
this  does  not  account  for  the  steady  sinking  of  the  price  of  stock 
till  it  resulted  in  a  dead  loss  to  the  purchasers,  so  far  as  money 
was  concerned,  of  all  they  had  invested  in  the  enterprise  ;  for 
so  it  happened  with  the  Rutland  Railroad,  and  all  other  rail 
roads  built  through  such  a  rough  country,  and  one  furnishing 
comparatively  so  little  travel  and  freight  to  sustain  them  and  com 
pensate  for  the  vast  outlays  of  their  construction.  The  stocks  of 
all  such  roads  are  now  worthless.  But  though  the  railroad  en 
terprise  has  here  resulted  in  great  individual  loss  to  all  who 
contributed  their  money  towards  it,  yet  the  general  benefits  it 
has  brought  to  the  country  at  largely  have  been  unquestionably 
important.  Here,  again,  however,  another  great  mistake  ap 
pears  to  have  been  made  in  regard  to  the  class  of  community 
most  to  be  benefited  by  the  opening  of  railroads.  The  inhabi 
tants  of  the  villages  bordering  the  line  of  the  road,  supposing  it 
would  cause  a  large  increase  of  the  trade  and  business  of  their 
respective  towns,  taxed  themselves  to  the  utmost  of  their  means, 
and  often  far  beyond  them,  in  contributing  to  the  enterprise  ; 
while  the  farmers,  seeing  few  or  no  prospective  benefits  from  it 
hi  store  for  themselves,  hung  doubtfully  back  and  took  scarcely 
any  stock,  though,  as  the  matter  resulted  they  should  have  been 


144  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

the  very  ones  to  have  taken  the  lead,  and  contribute  the  most 
liberally  in  the  wholo  movement:  for,  if  there  is  one  thing 
more  palpable  than  another  in  the  business  world,  it  is  the  fact, 
that  the  villages  have  built  the  railroads  and  the  farmers  have 
reapt  all  the  great  benefits. 

Some  kinds  of  trade,  it  is  true,  have  been  increased  in  Mont- 
pelier  village,  since  the  opening  of  the  railroad.  The  purchases 
of  produce  for  transportation  by  cars  to  the  cities,  consisting 
mostly  of  articles  which  before  would  not  pay  for  transportation, 
such  as  potatoes,  hemlock  bark  and  other  heavy  products,  have 
unquestionably  greatly  increased  in  amount,  if  not  doubled. 

One  of  the  two  stores  which,  for  many  years,  have  been  estab 
lished  at  the  Railroad  Depot  in  this  village,  lias  latterly  done  a 
business,  in  the  sales  of  both  exported  and  imported  articles,  of 
full  fifty  thousand  dollars  per  year  on  an  average,  while  the 
business  of  the  other  will  average  nearly  forty  thousand  dollars. 
The  opening  of  the  railroad  by  affording  facilities  for  the  cheap 
importation  of  Western  Wheat,  has  led  to  the  establishment, 
through  the  business  tact  and  energy  of  our  enterprising  citizen, 
James  R.  Langdon,  of  one  of  the  most  extensive  sets  of  flour 
ing  mills  to  be  found  in  New  England.  The  sales  of  the 
Hour,  corn  meal  and  feed  of  these  mills,  which  have  capacities 
for  turning  out  three  hundred  barrels  of  Hour  per  day,  amount 
generally  to  very  nearly  or  quite,  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dol 
lars  a  year.  The  opening  of  the  road  also  has  led  to  the  estab 
lishment  of  extensive  lumber  manufacturing  establishments  in 
Montpelier  and  vicinity,  the  largest  of  which  are  those  of  Wilder 
it  Wheeler,  in  this  town,  and  of  Putnam  &  Whitney,  on  the 
North  Branch,  in  Middlesex,  whose  mills  are  constantly  export 
ing  immense  quantities  of  boards  and  other  kinds  of  prepared 
lumber,  which  would  never  bear  transportation  before  the  open 
ing  of  the  railroad. 

The  retail  trade  of  the  village,  however,  as  well  as  most  kinds 
of  mechanical  business,  has,  we  think,  unquestionably  been  di 
minished.  The  trading  establishments  that  have  sprung  up, 
and  the  Depots  of  Northfield  and  Waterbury,  have  mainly  cut 
off  important  avennes  of  our  trade  in  those  two  quarters  ;  while 
the  stores  springing  up  at  the  various  stations  on  the  Passumpsic 
Railroad,  have  considerably  clipped  our  trade  in  parts  of  Or 
ange,  Caledonia  and  Orleans  counties.  And  the  general  result 
has  been  that  out  village  trade  and  business  has  been  greatly 
changed  and  revolutionized,  but  the  amount  done,  counting  that, 
and  the  greater  part  probably,  which  has  more  directly  inured 
10  the  benefit  of  those  out  of  the  village,  has  undoubted!)7  been 
much  larger  since  the  advent  of  the  Railroad  era, 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  145 

But,  as  before  intimated,  the  class  which  have  been  by  far  the 
most  benefited  by  the  opening  of  the  railroads  are  the  agricul 
tural  portion  of  the  community.  In  the  first  place,  their  farms, 
for  many  miles  back  on  each  side  of  the  line  of  the  railroad, 
have  risen  in  value  and  marketable  price  far  beyond  all  former 
precedent,  those  nearest  having  within  the  last  ten  years  nearly 
doubled  their  values,  and  those  more  remote  risen  to  proportional 
prices.  The  cheapness  of  transportation  of  their  produce,  mak 
ing  a  great  annual  saving  of  money  formerly  lost  in  freightage, 
and  the  great  rising  of  the  prices  of  all  products  in  the  city  mar 
kets,  mainly  through  the  eifects  probably  of  the  influx  of  Cal 
ifornia  gold,  .have  made  the  period  last  mentioned  a  golden  one 
for  the  farmers.  They  have  gone  on  steadily  advancing  in  thrift 
and  wealth  until  they  are  now,  as  a  body,  the  most  forehanded 
and  independent  class  of  community.  The  nearly  twenty  thou 
sand  acres  of  land  comprised  within  the  present  limits  of  East 
Montpelier,  which  a  dozen  years  ago  would  not  have  commanded 
over  fifteen  dollars  per  acre,  or  in  the  whole  the  sum  of  $300,000, 
would  now  be  valued  at  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre,  or  in  the 
whole  the  sum  of  half  a  million  of  dollars.  And  with  the  in 
crease  of  the  value  of  their  farms,  their  stocks  of  cattle,  horses 
and  other  domestic  animals,  their  farming  tools,  their  buildings, 
and  especially  their  purses,  have  fully  kept  pace  with  the  march 
of  improvement.  This  state  of  things,  indeed,  seems  to  have 
almost  entirely  reversed  the  relative  positions  of  the  farmers  and 
the  villagers.  Once  the  farmers,  even  of  the  better  class,  were 
content  to  have  the  prices  of  their  products  dictated  by  the  mer 
chant  and  tradesman  ;  now  they  dictate  their  own  prices.  Once 
they  were  found  humbly  asking  the  merchant  and  trader  for  len 
iency  in  the  payment  of  their  debts,  or  at  best,  of  the  balances  of 
trade  that  were  generally  found  against  them  ;  now  the  debts 
and  balances  are  found  on  the  other  side,  and  the  farmer,  to  the 
petition  of  the  trader,  carelessly  remarks — "  Why  yes,  that  bal 
ance  may  stand,  and  perhaps  1  can  let  you  have  a  few  hundred 
dollars  more,  but  I  shall  expect  about  nine  per  cent."  Once  the 
farmer  came  into  the  village  with  his  old  work  horse,  plain  har 
ness  and  plainer  sleigh  or  wagon  ;  now  he  comes  with  his  two 
hundred  dollar  horse,  the  best  plated  harness  and  the  gayest  and 
most  costly  sleigh  or  wagon,  with  corresponding  equipments. 
Once  the  farmer's  son's  highest  aspirations  were  to  be  a  mer 
chant,  his  daughter's  to  be  the  wife  of  a  villager  ;  now  the  son 
"  don't  know  about  going  into  the  small  business  of  measuring 
out  tape,"  and  the  daughter  looks  clear  over  the  head  of  the 
counter-jumper.  In  short  the  villagers  have  had  their  day,  and 
the  farmers  are  now  having  theirs. 

19 


146  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

We  now  come  to  an  event  which  we  would  have  gladly  been 
spared  the  necessity  of  here  recording.  We  mean  the  compul 
sory  division — compulsory  certainly  so  far  as  regarded  nearly 
half  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  town,  and  the  portion  who  in 
habited  a  vast  preponderance  of  its  territory — the  compulsory 
division  of  the  town  by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1848. 

Few  will  now  deny,  we  suppose,  that,  with  some  complaints  of 
the  villagers  in  regard  to  a  temporary  inequality  in  the  distribu 
tion  of  high-way  taxes,  and  the  standing  inconvenience  to  which 
they  were  subjected  in  going  up  to  the  Center  to  attend  Town 
Meeting — few  will  now  deny  that  this  division  was  effected  by 
political  considerations.  But  the  particulars  character  of  the  ap 
pliances  then  used  to  accomplish  the  object  are  now,  perhaps,  of 
too  little  consequence  to  justify  an  attempt  to  describe  or  recall 
them.  Let  the  remembrance  of  them  pass  away  with  the  tran 
sient  afflatus  that  blew  them  into  such  strangely  successful  action. 
The  more  tangible  facts  connected  with  the  transaction  are  simply 
these  : — The  territory  set  off  under  the  name  of  East  Montpelier 
comprised  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  territory  of  the  whole 
town  ;  and  the  inhabitants  occupying  it  comprised  about  two- 
fifths  of  the  whole  population,  or  fourteen  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  in  East  Montpelier  to  the  twenty-three  hundred  and  ten  in 
Montpelier.  There  was  a  petition  for  the  measure  got  up  in  the 
village,  and,  under  the  influence  of  various  arguments,  political 
and  financial,  signed  by  perhaps  a  majority  of  its  legal  voters, 
who,  with  a  few  exceptions;  were  of  the  same  politics  which 
largely  predominated  in  the  Legislature  to  whom  it  was  ad 
dressed  ;  while  there  was  a  remonstrance  got  up  in  the  part  pro 
posed  to  be  set  off,  signed  by  nearly  the  whole  mass  of  the  legal 
voters  of  all  parties,  together  with  a  respectable  minority  of  the 
legal  voters  of  the  village.  No  vote  of  the  town  was  taken  on 
the  subject  previous  to  the  movement,  and  no  public  notice  was 
given  of  applying  for  the  proposed  division  ;  nor  was  the  bill 
permitted  by  the  petitioners  to  be  so  framed  as  to  allow  the 
voters  of  either  division  ever  after  to  act  on  the  question  of 
adoption  or  rejection  of  the  measure.  And  on  this  state  of  facts, 
the  Legislature  assumed  the  power  and  responsibility  of  passing 
the  bill  making  an  unconditional  division  of  the  town,  and  thus 
arbitrarily  breaking  up  this  old  chartered  corporation,  in  which 
the  inhabitants  therein  embraced,  and  ever  to  be  embraced,  had 
been  perpetually  guarantied  their  iranchises  under  one  undivided 
municipality. 

It  is  not  necessary  now  to  enquire  how  far  this  act,  setting  off 
the  great  body  of  the  territory  of  the  town  in  the  face  of  the 
united  remonstrance  of  its  inhabitants,  would  be  found  constitu- 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  147 

tional,  when  tested  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  not  an  ther  such  an  instance  of  the  exercise 
of  arbitrary  power,  in  regard  to  town  corporations  and  their 
chartered  franchises,  can  be  found  to  mark  the  legislation  of 
Vermont ;  and  but  one  other,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  in 
the  whole  confederacy  of  States,  and  that  solitary  instance  was 
involved  in  a  similar  division  of  the  town  oi  Memphis,  in  the 
State  of  Mississippi. 

The  town  from  this  era  in  its  affairs  became,  of  course,  divid 
ed  into  two  distinct,  independent  municipalities,  and  has  so  ever 
since  remained.  But  as  we  commenced  necessarily  with  an  ac 
count  of  the  whole  of  this  noble  township,  and  have  had  the 
gratification  of  rightfully  treating  it  as  such  up  to  this  late  stage 
of  our  work,  and  as  both  its  parts  are  still  connected  by  the 
bonds  of  one  common  charter,  we  shall  not  now  imitate  the  leg 
islation  we  have  been  questioning,  by  breaking  our  history  into 
two  pieces,  but  pass  on  to  the  end  as  we  begun,  and  as  if  no  di 
vision  had  ever  been  effected. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRES,  FLOODS  AND  THEIR  CASUALTIES,    TOGETHER   WITH    FATAL  CAS 
UALTIES   IX    VILLAGE   AND  TOWN  SINCE   ITS   SETTLEMENT. 

Fires,  fyc. — The  number  of  really  disastrous  fires,  which  have 
occured  in  Montpelier,  either  in  the  village  or  the  town  at  large, 
has  fortunately  been  small.  Few  villages  of  the  size,  indeed, 
have  been  more  favored  in  that  respect  than  ours.  The  first  one 
that  ever  took  place,  it  is  believed,  was  in  1801,  when  the  first 
frame  school  house,  standing  near  the  west  end  of  the  old  burying 
grounds  on  the  Branch,  accidently  caught  fire  and  was  consum 
ed.  For  the  next  dozen  years,  we  find  no  report  of  any  de 
struction  of  property  by  fire.  There  might  have  occurred  sever 
al  small  fires,  during  that  period  ;  but,  if  so,  they  were  of  so  in 
significant  a  character,  comparatively,  as  to  have  passed  out  of 
remembrance.  In  the  month  of  December,  1813,  however,  a  fire 
occurred  which  involved  a  severe  calamity,  as  it  resulted  in  the 


148  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

entire  destruction  of  the  large  two  story  cotton  mill,  that  had 
been  for  some  time,  in  successful  operation,  at  the  river  falls,  not 
far  from  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  old  Paper  Mill.  In  1815 
the  dwelling  house  of  Seth  Parsons  was  burned,  at  a  loss  perhaps 
of  $1,500. 

December,  1818,  a  Paper  Mill  and  Clothing  works  occupying 
the  same  ground  on  which  stood  the  cotton  factory,  was  burned, 
with  a  loss  of  about  $4,000.  In  1822,  the  blacksmith  shop  of 
Joseph  Howes  was  burned.  In  1822,  the  old  Academy  building 
was  totally  consumed  by  fire.  In  March  1826,  occurred,  consid- 
ing  the  loss  of  life  and  the  personal  injuries  it  involved,  the 
most  calamitous  fire,  perhaps,  ever  experienced  in  Montpelier. 
The  Woolen  Factory  and  Grist  Mill,  on  the  falls  of  the  North 
Branch,  owned  by  Araunah  Waterman  and  Seth  Parsons,  caught 
fire  about  day-break,  and  was  totally  consumed,  causing  a  loss  of 
many  thousand  dollars  to  the  proprietors. 

While  the  fire,  which,  when  discovered,  had  gained  too  much 
headway  to  leave  much  hope  of  saving  the  factory,  was  raging 
in  one  part  of  the  lower  story,  Mr.  Waterman,  Mr.  Joel  Mead, 
and  Robert  Patterson,  a  leading  workman  in  the  establishment, 
made  their  way  to  the  upper  story  and  fell  to  work  to  gather  up 
and  throw  from  one  of  the  windows  what  cloths  and  stock  they 
supposed  they  might  have  time  to  save.  But  the  fire  below 
spread  with  such  unexpected  rapidity,  that  before  they  were 
aware  of  any  danger,  the  fire  burst  into  the  room,  cutting  off 
their  retreat  downwards  by  the  stairs  and  even  preventing  access 
to  the  windows  the  least  elevated  from  irregular  ground  beneath. 
At  this  crisis  Mr.  Waterman,  closely  followed  by  'Mr.  Mead, 
made  a  desperate  rush  through  the  smoke  and  flame  for  a  win 
dow  in  the  end  of  the  building  next  the  Branch,  stove  out  the 
sash  with  the  heel  of  his  boot  and  threw  himself  half  suffocated 
through  the  aperture  to  the  rough  and  frozen  ground  or  ice  some 
thirty  feet  below.  Mr.  Mead  followed  in  the  perilous  leap,  and 
they  were  both  taken  up  nearly  senseless  from  the  shock,  terri 
bly  bruised  and  considerably  burned  in  the  face  and  hands.  But 
none  of  their  bones  were  broken  and  they  both  in  a  few  weeks 
recovered.  Nothing  more  was  seen  of  the  fated  Patterson  ex 
cept  his  charred  skeleton,  which  was  found  in  the  ruins  after  the 
lire  subsided.  For  some  reason  he  had  decided  not  to  follow 
Mr.  Waterman  and  Mr.  Mead  in  the  only  way  of  escape  then  left 
open  to  them,  and  the  next  minute  probably  perished  in  the 
smoke  and  fire  which  must  then  suddenly  have  enveloped  him. 

In  May,  1827,  a  two  story  wooden  building,  standing  on  the 
site  of  the  present  Lyman  building,  and  then  owned  and  occupied 
by  Wiggins  &  Seely  as  a  store,  was  burned,  causing  a  loss  of 
probably  not  over  two  thousand  dollars. 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  149 

Iii  April,  1828,  a  Paper  Mill  owned  by  Goss  &  Reed,  of  Mont- 
pelier,  but  situated  at  the  falls  on  the  Berlin  side  of  the  river, 
was  burned,  occasioning  a  loss  of  about  four  thousand  dollars. 

In  1834,  the  Oil  Mill  and  Saw  Mill,  in  the  former  of  which 
was  W.  Sprague's  Machine  shop,  standing  also  on  the  Berlin  side 
of  the  river,  but  mostly  owned  and  worked  by  Montpelier  men, 
were  both  wholly  burned. 

In  February,  1835,  the  first  Union  House,  built  by  Colonel 
Davis,  about  forty-five  years  before,  caught  fire  about  midday, 
and  was  entirely  consumed,  occasioning  a  loss  of  probably  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  the  furniture  being  mostly  saved. 

For  the  next  seven  years,  the  village  appears  to  have  enjoyed 
a  happy  exemption  from  all  destructive  fires,  or  fires  indeed  of 
any  kind,  except  perhaps  that  of  some  worthless  shantee,  or 
such  as  caught  and  were  extinguished  before  any  but  trifling 
damage  was  sustained. 

But  in  1842,  the  dwelling  house  of  0.  H.  Smith,  Esq.,  caught 
fire  and  the  roof  part  of  the  building  was  destroyed 

In  1843,  the  new  brick  Court  House  standing  near  the  pres 
ent  one,  was  burned,  but  the  records  and  files  were  mostly  saved  ; 
and  here  was  another  and  still  larger  exemption  of  the  ravages 
of  the  devouring  element. 

In  1858,  the  dwelling  house  of  Harry  Richardson,  near  the 
Union  House,  was  wholly  destroyed  by  fire. 

In  1854,  the  building  of  Ira  Town,  occupied  by  him  as  a  Gold 
smith's  shop,  and  standing  on  the  present  site  of  A.  A.  Mead's 
shop,  was  burned  in  part,  and  the  adjoining  building  of  the  Patriot 
Office  considerably  injured. 

In  1854,  also,  the  roof  part  of  the  upper  story  of  Walton's 
Bookstore,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  but  for  the  timely  strik 
ing  of  a  shower  on  the  excessively  dry  roofs,  that  whole  block  of 
wooden  buildings  would  probably  have  been  destroyed. 

In  1854  was  burned  a  two  story  houe  standing  back  of  Mason 
ic  Hall. 

In  1855  a  barn  belonging  to  Araunah  Waterman,  was  burned. 

January  6th,  1857,  the  State  House,  which  was  being  warmed 
up  on  the  eve  of  the  septenary  Constitutional  Convention,  caught 
fire  from  the  furnace,  and  all  but  the  empty  granite  walls,  with 
their  brick  linings,  was  destroyed,  and  all  the  contents  except  the 
Library,  which.was  got  out,  and  the  books  and  papers  in  the  safe 
of  the  Secretary  of  State's  office,  a  few  articles  of  furniture  and 
the  portrait  of  Washington,  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins. 
Within  the  same  year  also  two  small  houses  were  burned  near 
the  brick  yard  and  one  near  Keith's  ledge. 

In  1858  a  new  one  story  house  of  one  Cookson,  standing  on 


150  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

the  road  leading  from  the  cooper's  shop  north,  through  the  great 
pasture,  was  burned  ;  and,  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  an 
other  building  erected  by  the  same  man,  and  on  the  same  spot, 
was  also  burned  down. 

In  December,  1859,  the  large  three  story  biick  and  wood, 
second  Union  House,  valued  at  about  live  thousand  dollars,  was 
entirely  destroyed  by  lire  with  a  portion  of  the  furniture,  making 
the  loss  several  hundreds  more. 

By  this  list  of  fires,  which  is  the  most  full  and  complete  we 
have  been  able  to  obtain,  and  which  certainly  embraces  every 
fire  of  any  consequence  that  ever  occurred  in  Montpelier  village, 
we  make  the  whole  number  to  have  been,  from  the  first  settle 
ment  of  the  town  to  1860,  but  twenty- four  :  and  the  amount  of 
property  destroyed,  except  that  of  the  State  House,  which  was 
public  property,  according  to  an  estimate  we  have  made  as  we 
passed  along,  will  clearly  come  within  the  sum  of  $50,000. 
Was  ever  a  village  of  the  size,  in  this  respect,  more  signally  fa 
vored  ? 

In  connection  with  the  village  fires,  may  be  appropriately 
named  the  fatal  casualty,  which  occurred  from  an  explosion  of 
gunpowder  in  the  store  of  Erastus  Hubbard,  in  the  fail  of 
1849.  It  was  on  election  day,  and  Mr.  Hubbard,  or  his  clerk, 
was  weighing  out  a  parcel  of  powder  to  some  one  of  the  promis 
cuous  crowd  in  the  store  room,  and  around  the  door.  Powder 
had  doubtless  been  scattered  on  the  floor,  in  filling  the  can  from 
which  the  amount  called  lor  was  being  poured  into  the  scales  : 
and  one  or  more  persons  were  smoking  cigars  in  the  room,  when 
suddenly  a  terrific  explosion  followed.  Two  men  were  so  burn 
ed  and  fatally  injured  that  they  survived  but  a  short  time,  and 
one  or  two  others  were  sadly  maimed.  Mr.  Hubbard's  life,  in 
consequence  of  the  burns  then  received,  was  for  months  despair- 
ed  of,  but  he  finally  recovered,  though  wearing  the  palpable 
marks  of  the  accident  to  this  day.  The  second  floor  of  the  build 
ing  was  hoisted  by  the  force  of  the  explosion  about  six  inches 
from  its  place,  and  the  store  was  set  on  fire,  but  the  flames  were 
soon  extinguished  with  little  additional  damage. 

Two  fatal  accidents  from  the  use  of  gunpowder  occurred,  also, 
in  blasting  out  the  rock  for  the  foundation  of  the  second  State 
House.  Elisha  Hutchinson,  of  Worcester,  was  struck  down 
dead,  near  the  Insurance  office,  by  a  stone  throws  by  a  blast  on 
the  ledge  about  thirty  rods  distant ;  and  John  W.  Culver,  a  me 
chanic  of  Montpelier,  was,  the  same  season,  struck  at  the  dis 
tance  of  twenty  rods  and  killed,  by  a  wooden  roller  placed  over 
the  mine  to  prevent  the  stones  from  flying  ;  while  a  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Tucker,  from  Calais,  one  of  the  workmen  on  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER.  151 

State  House  foundation,  was  so  injured  by  one  of  the  blasts  that 
he  lost  his  eye-sight  and  his  prospects  were  ruined  for  life. 

The  fires  out  of  the  village,  and  through  the  rest  of  the  orig 
inal  township  have  been  still  fewer,  and  have  involved  the  de 
struction  of  a  less  amount  of  property  even  in  proportion  to  the 
population.  The  following  is  the  fullest  list  we  can  obtain,  and 
must  comprise  all  the  fires  of  much  importance,  and  nearly  or 
quite  all  of  every  kind  that  have  ever  occurred. 

Jn  August  1813,  the  barn  of  J.  B.  Wheeler,  Esq.,  with  most 
of  his  crop  of  new  hay,  being  struck  by  lightning. 

In  the  winter  of  1816,  a  School  House  on  East  Hill,  while 
the  school  was  being  kept  by  Shubael  Wheeler. 

lu  about  1820,  the  dwelling-house  of  Abijah  Howard,  about  a 
mile  from  the  village. 

In  1824,  the  two  story  house  of  the  late  Hon.  David  Wing, 
on  the  present  farm  of  Nutt  and  Wing.  About  the  same  period, 
a  blacksmith  shop,  and  also  a  small  house  at  the  Centre  village. 

In  1829,  a  dwelling-house  of  James  Gould,  in  what  is  called 
the  Gould  neighborhood. 

In  1840,  the  dwelling  house  of  Simeon  Nash  on  the  road  from 
East  village  to  Plainfield. 

In  1847,  the  two  story  hotel,  known  as  the  Merrill  Williams 
tavern,  at  East  village. 

In  1848,  the  School  House  in  the  Wheeler  district. 

In  1849,  the  barn  of  John  Gallison,  with  considerable  hay 
and  five  horses  and  colts. 

In  1849  also,  the  dwelling-house,  barn  and  sheds  of  Charles 
Burnham. 

In  1852,  the  Union  store  at  East  village.  At  about  the  same 
period,  the  old  Hamblin  house  near  the  Centre  village. 

In  1854,  the  dwelling  house  of  Orrin  Slay  ton. 

In  1854  also,  three  barns  of  Orlando  F.  Lewis. 

In  1858,  the  School  House  in  Henry  Nutt's  School  District. 
Also  the  dwelling-house  of  Clark  Templeton. 

In  1859,  the  blacksmith  shop  of  George  Lewis,  at  East  Mi 
lage. 

These  make  in  the  total  nineteen  in  number  and  involved  a 
destruction  of  property,  according  to  the  rough  estimate  we 
have  made,  of  about  $14,000. 

Floods,  fyc.  We  have  already  mentioned,  in  one  of  the  few 
first  chapters  of  this  work,  that,  two  or  three  years  before  the 
first  settlement  of  Montpelier,  or  somewhere  about  the  year 
1785,  there  was  a  very  remarkable  flood  in  the  valley  of  the 
Winooski,  in  which  the  water  in  that  river  in  this  vicinity,  rose 
many  feet  higher  than  that  of  any  flood  that  has  ever  since  oc- 


152  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

cured.  From  incontestable  indications,  it  appears  that  the  water 
in  that  unprecedented  rise  of  the  Winooski,  rose  some  three  or 
four  feet  higher  than  the  highest  parts  of  State  Street.  This 
would  have  submerged  nearly  every  acre  of  the  whole  of  the 
present  site  of  Montpelier  Village,  to  depths  varying  from  one 
to  a  dozen  feet,  from  the  rise  of  the  hills  on  one  side  to  that  of 
the  corresponding  one  on  the  other  side.  Should  such  another 
flood  occur  what  destruction  of  property  must  ensue  ? 

Floods  filling  the  channels  of  the  river  and  branch  to  the  tops 
of  their  banks  with  overflows  in  all  the  lower  places,  were  of  al 
most  yearly  occurrence  during  the  first  twenty  years  after  the 
settlement  of  the  town.  But  the  first  one  that  fairly  overflowed 
the  banks  and  came  into  the  streets  to  much  extent,  occurred,  as 
far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  in  the  summer  of  about 
1810.  The  water  at  that  time  submerged  all  the  lower  parts  of 
Main  and  State  Streets,  and  in  bursting  over  the  western  bank 
of  the  branch,  just  above  State  Street  Bridge,  tore  out  the  earth 
near  the  bridge  to  an  extent  that  rendered  the  street  nearly  im 
passible  for  wagons,  and  left,  on  the  subsiding  of  the  flood,  a 
pond  hole  of  water  six  or  eight  feet  deep  and  twenty  in  diame 
ter,  on  one  side  and  extending  to  the  border  of  the  street.  Into 
this  hole  one  of  the  lawyers  blundered  on  a  dark  night,  sometimes 
afterwards,  as  we  recollect  from  the  circumstance  that  the  wags 
of  the  village  dubbed  him  for  the  time,  Walk-inrthe- Water,  in 
allusion  to  the  name  of  an  Indian  chief,  who,  about  the  same 
time,  had  in  some  way  become  known  to  the  public. 

In  this  hole,  was  subsequently  drowned,  from  falling  in  dur 
ing  a  dark  evening,  Carver  Shurtleff,  a  little  man  with  a  big 
voice,  noted  for  two  things,  his  expertness  in  flax-dressing,  and 
his  propensity  for  trading  in  dogs. 

On  the  24th  and  25th  of  March,  1826,  there  was,  on  the 
breaking  up  of  the  river,  an  unusually  high  spring  flood,  which 
swept  away  the  old  trussel  bridge  leading  across  the  river  to 
Berlin,  and  undermined  and  at  length  carried  off  the  grist  mill 
of  James  H.  Langdon,  on  the  Berlin  side.  This  flood' occurred 
in  the  night,  and  was  entirely  unexpected.  Probably  less  than 
a  dozen  people  witnessed  it  and  can  testify  to  the  imminent  peril 
in  which  many  families  were  placed.  As  the  ice  broke  up  in  the 
river  above  Langdon's  mill,  it  formed  a  dam  upon  the  piers  of 
the  bridge  and  the  bridge  itself,  and  almost  the  entire  flow  of  the 
river  was  turned  through  what  is  now  Barre  Street  and  the  lower 
part  of  Main  Street,  in  a  compact  body  like  a  wall  or  a  large 
wave.  My  informant  saw  it  coming  near  the  Shepard  tavern, 
was  forced  to  run  with  all  speed,  and  found  no  refuge  until  he 
reached  the  portico  of  the  Union  House.  Fortunately  this 


HISTORY  OP  MONTPELIEK.  158 

change  in  the  course  of  the  river  lasted  but  for  a  few  minutes, 
else  many  houses  would  have  been  undermined  and  SAvept  oft'. 
The  bridge  gave  way,  and  with  it  the  dam,  taking  a  part  of  one 
of  the  paper  mills,  and  the  river  wall  of  Langdon's  grist  mill, 
and  on  the  following  day  the  grist  mill  fell  into  the  stream. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1828,  occurred  the  first  of  what  arc 
usually  called  the  two  great  Hoods,  at  Montpclier  village.  After 
nearly  three  days  of  almost  continued  rain,  which  grew  more 
and  more  copious  every  day,  and  ended  with  an  excessively 
heavy  and  prolonged  shower  on  the  night  of  the  fourth,  the  water 
rose  four  or  five  feet  higher  than  had  been  known  since  the  town 
was  settled.  Nearly  the  whole  village,  including  cellars,  streets 
and  ground  floods,  was  inundated.  Two  bridges  and  a  barn, 
on  the  north  branch,  were  wholly  swept  away,  and  fences,  wood 
piles  and  lumber  along  the  banks  of  the  streams  were  very  gen 
erally  upset  and  carried  down  stream  ;  while  the  damages  to 
provisions  and  goods,  in  the  cellars  of  stores  and  dwelling-hous 
es,  must  have  amounted  to  a  large  sum.  The  office  of  the  writer 
of  these  pages  was  then  in  Langdon's  great  brick  building  at  the 
corner.  His  boarding  place  was  at  W.  W.  Cadwell's  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street ;  and  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  the 
depth  of  the  water  may  be  had  in  the  fact,  which  we  distinctly 
remember,  that  at  noon,  when  the  water  had  attained  its  height, 
Mr.  Cadwell  came  for  us  in  a  skiff,  and  running  it  into  the  entry 
way  leading  to  the  ofliccs  on  the  second  floor  took  us  in  from  the 
third  stair,  and  rowing  us  across  the  street  and  into  the  front 
hall  landed  us  on  the  fourth  stair  leading  to  the  chambers  of  his 
own  house,  where  the  cooking  for  the  family  on  that  day  could 
only  be  done. 

The  second,  and  still  greater  of  these  iloods,  took  place  on 
the  29th  of  July,  18oO.  The  character  of  the  preceding  rains 
had  been  very  similar  to  those  of  the  other  great  ilood ;  but  the 
water  rose  full  six  inches  higher,  and  ran  over  the  window  sills 
and  into  the  lower  rooms  of  several  houses  around  the  head  of 
State  street.  The  two  lower  bridges  over  the  Branch  were 
again  swept  away.  The  office  building  of  Joshua  Y.  Yail,  on 
State  Street,  was  floated  off  and  lodged  in  a  low  branching  tree 
near  the  present  Episcopal  Church,  from  which  it  was  after 
wards  lowered  down  and  drawn  back  to  its  old  stand.  Two  oth 
er  small  buildings  standing  near  the  bank  of  the  Branch,  were 
carried  down  stream  and  wholly  broken  up  in  the  rapids  below 
the  village.  Much  damage  in  various  ways  was  also  occasioned 
by  this  great  flood.  But  it  was  marked  by  the  still  greater  ca 
lamity  of  the  loss  of  life.  Nathaniel  Bancroft,  of  Calais,  a  mid 
dle  aged  farmer  of  considerable  property,  was  unfortunately 

20 


154  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

drowned.  But,  by  way  of  showing  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  melancholly  casualty  occurred,  as  well  as  demon 
strating  the  depth  and  extent  of  the  overflow  of  our  streets,  we 
will  again  beg  leave  to  refer  to  personal  remembrances.  We 
then  resided  near  the  easterly  end  of  Main  Street,  on  the  swell 
where  Carlos  Bancroft  now  lives.  Towards  noon,  at  the  height 
of  the  water,  we  threw  together  a  few  plank  in  the  edge  of  the 
water  which  came  to  the  loot  of  that  rise,  about  ten  rods  from 
the  Loomis  house,  near  the  residence  of  Dr.  Charles  Clark, 
mounted  our  rude  raft  with  a  setting  pole,  and  sailed  through  the 
entire  length  of  Main  Street  to  the  end  of  the  Arch  Bridge  over 
the  river.  When  about  midway  on  the  voyage,  Mr.  Bancroft, 
with  one  or  two  others  from  the  same  quarter,'  who  had  come 
down  to  see  the  flood,  rushed  past  us  on  the  side  walk,  which  was 
covered  with  less  depth  of  water,  all  evidently  much  excited  bv 
the  novelties  of  the  scene,  and,  regardless  of  a  wetting,  making 
their  way  through  the  water  as  fast  as  possible  towards  the  cor 
ner,  where  the  greatest  damage  was  expected  to  occur.  As  we 
were  nearing  the  old  Shepard  tavern  stand,  a  pile  of  wood  at 
the  north-easterly  end  of  the  barn,  began  to  rise,  tumble  and 
float  away  in  the  strong,  deep  currant,  which  here  made  from  the 
street  through  by  the  way  of  the  barn  towards  the  confluence  of 
the  branch  and  the  river.  At  this  juncture,  the  luck^s  Bancroft, 
who  had  by  this  time  just  reached  a  dry  place  before  the  barn 
door  and  stood  eating  a  cracker,  rushed  down  into  the  water  witli 
the  idea  of  saving  some  of  the  wood  ;  and  not  being  aware  how 
rapidly  the  ground  fell  off  here,  he  was  in  a  moment  beyond  his 
depth,  and  sunk  to  rise  no  more.  When  his  body  was  recov 
ered  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  afterwards,  his  mouth  was  found 
full  of  half  masticated  cracker,  and  life  was  gone  beyond  all  the 
arts  of  resuscitation.  It  is  highly  probable,  indeed,  that  he  was 
strangled  at  the  outset,  and,  as  others  have  been  known  to  do 
under  peculiar  circumstances,  died  almost  instantly. 

There  have  been  numerous  partial  overflows  of  the  streets, 
at  various  times,  filling  up  grocery  and  other  cellars,  and  doing- 
injuries  to  bridges,  mills  and  other  buildings,  by  sudden  winter 
floods,  and  the  consequent  breaking  up,  and  darning  of  the  ice 
in  the  streams,  within,  and  above  and  below  the  village.  Among 
the  best  remembered  of  these  winter  floods,  was  one  that  sudden 
ly  occurred  in  February.  1825,  in  the  middle  of  a  night  preceded 
by  a  remarkably  warm  and  heavy  rain.  There  was  a  ball  at  the 
Union  House  that  night,  and  as  John  Pollard,  of  Barre,  with  his 
sisters  and  others,  were  returning  from  the  ball,  their  team  be 
came  completely  imprisoned  on  a  little  knoll  in  a  road  about  a 
mile  above  the  village,  by  monstrous  blocks  of  the  disrupting  ice 


HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER.  155 

of  the  river,  which  were  being  driven  with  amazing  force  into  the 
road  immediately  above  and  below.  The  party  escaped  to  the 
hills  and  the  ladies  waded  through  the  snow,  two  feet  deep,  to  a 
house  half  a  mile  distant,  while  the  team  was  not  extracted 
till  the  next  morning.  Another  sudden  breaking  up  of  the  ice 
occurred  in  January,  1840,  in  the  evening,  after  an  unusually 
warm  and  rainy  afternoon.  The  ice,  having  broken  up  in  the 
river  above,  was,  under  the  impetus  of  the  rising  water  and  a 
strong  south  wind,  driven  through  the  whole  length  of  the  mill 
pond,  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  about  ten  minutes.  But  it  was 
suddenly  brought  to  a  stand  at  the  narrowing  of  the  channel  at 
the  arch  bridge,  when  half  the  whole  river  was  thrown  over  all 
the  lower  part  of  Barre  street ;  and,  for  a  short  time,  all  the 
buildings  on  that  part  of  the  street  were  in  imminent  danger 
of  being  swept  away.  Before  much  damage  was  done,  how 
ever,  Mr.  Langdon's  mill  dam  was  crushed  down  and  forced  away 
beneath  the  tremendous  pressure  of  the  ice  above,  when  the  river 
at  once  fell  back  into  its  ordinary  channel. 

Montpelier  village  ever  has  been,  and  ever  must  be,  liable  to 
damage  from  floods.  And  the  clearing  up  of  the  country  on  the 
streams  above  will  not  lessen,  but  increase  such  liability.  When 
the  lands  lying  along  the  slopes  of  rivers  are  covered  with  for 
ests,  the  earth,  made  porous  by  the  roots  of  growing  trees,  the 
rotting  timber,  the  beds  of  leaves  and  the  mosses  spread  every 
where  over  the  ground,  take  up,  like  a  sponge,  the  falling  water, 
which  consequently  is  at  first  mostly  retained,  and  will  flow  off 
into  the  streams  with  comparative  slowness.  But  clear  up  these 
slopes  and  remove  all  these  absorbents,  and  the  water  is  almost 
at  once  thrown  into  the  main  stream,  and  goes  rushing  down  to 
wards  the  outlet,  in  a  volume  proportionate  to  the  quality  of 
water  which  has  fallen.  The  valley  of  the  North  Branch,  which 
lies  in  the  form  of  a  trough,  is  now  being  largely  cleared  of  its 
forests,  and  when  it  shall  be  wholly  cleared  up,  except  the  usual 
reserves  of  woodlots,  he  must  be  a  bold  philosopher  who  would 
guarantee  our  village  against  disasters  from  floods  coming  down 
on  us  in  that  direction.  And  the  village  will  never  be  effectu 
ally  guarded  against  such  disasters,  till  they  have  built  high, 
strong  walls  along  each  bank  of  this  stream,  and  extended  the 
width  of  the  channel  to  at  least  one-third  more  than  its  present 
dimensions. 

Most  of  the  casualties  that  have  occurred  in  Montpelier,  in 
volving  a  loss  of  life,  have  been,  like  those  above  mentioned,  in 
deaths  from  drowning,  though  not  the  most  of  them  at  times  of 
floods.  In  about  1824,  Mr.  Theron  Lamphere,  though  an  excel 
lent  swimmer,  was  drowned  in  the  mill-pond,  while  attempting 


HISTORY   OF    MONTPEL1EU. 

to  swim  over  from  Captain  Hubbard's  hay  field,  at  the  close  of 
his  day's  work  at  night,  to  his  home  on  the  Berlin  side,  was 
drowned,  probably,  through  the  effects  of  a  lit  of  cramp  seizing 
and  sinking  him  in  the  last  part  of  the  passage,  as  the  next  morn 
ing  he  was  found  dead,  with  his  hand  firmly  clenched  upon  a 
root  at  the  bottom  of  the  river,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  bank  on 
the  Berlin  side. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  winter  of  1857—8,  a  Mr.  Wil 
liams  of  Middlesex,  who  had  become  partially  insane,  and  of 
wandering  habits,  threw  himself  through  a  break  in  the  ice 
into  the  flume  of  Langdon's  mill,  and  was  drowned,  though  the 
fact  was  not  known  till  the  next  spring,  when  his  body  was 
found  in  the  Hume.  And  about  the  same  period  or  before,  a 
man,  not  a  resident  of  this  town,  drowned  himself  by  forcing  his 
way  through  a  hole  in  the  ice  in  the  North  Branch  a  mile  or  two 
above  Montpelier  village. 

In  August,  1859,  a  promising  son  of  Charles  Lyman,  Esq.,  of 
this  village,  aged  about  twelve  years,  was  unfortunately  drown 
ed  at  the  mouth  of  Dog-  River,  while  bathing. 

There  have  been  two  other  fatal  casualties  in  Montpelier  vil 
lage,  which,  though  not  caused  by  any  of  the  various  agencies  of 
lire  or  water,  may  here  as  properly  as  elsewhere  be  mentioned. 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1828,  a  laborer,  by  the  name  of 
Mead,  from  Middlesex,  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  heavy  body 
of  earth  or  clay  from  the  excavated  bank,  under  which  he  was 
engaged  in  filling  a  cart  a  short  distance  in  the  rear  of  the  house 
of  W.  W.  Cadwell,  Esq.  About  the  year  1840,  an  Irishman 
was  killed  in  a  fight  with  one  of  his  countrymen,  which  took 
place  near  the  old  Arch  Bridge,  in  this  village ;  and  the  homi 
cide  we  believe,  was  tried  and  sent  to  the  State's  Prison,  but  in 
a  few  years  pardoned. 

There  have  been,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain, 
from  first  to  last,  as  many  as  four  persons  killed  within  the 
whole  township  of  Montpelier,  by  the  falling  of  trees.  The  first 
was,  as  mentioned  in  one  account  of  the  deaths  in  town  previous 
to  1800,  a  little  girl  old  enough  to  attend  school,  a  step  daugh 
ter  of  Benjamin  Nash,  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  She  was 
approaching  her  father,  wholly  unnoticed  and  unknown  to  him, 
while  he  was  cutting  down  a  tree  in  the  border  of  the  woods 
near  his  house,  when  the  tree  fell  in  the  direction  in  which  she 
was  unconsciously  making  her  way,  and  killed  her.  The  second 
was  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-one  by  the  name  ol  Chamber 
lain  who  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree  in  a  central  part  of 
of  the  town  during  the  year  1801.  And  another  of  the  name  of 
Robinson,  during  that  or  the  following  year,  was  killed  by  the 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPEL1E11.  157 

falling  of  a  tree  in  the  north  part  of  the  township.  And,  yet 
another,  an  idiotic  man  of  the  name  of  Charles  Davis,  we  think, 
was  killed  by  a  tree  of  his  own  falling,  while  undertaking  to  get 
out  of  danger  by  running  in  the  same  direction  in  which  the 
tree  had  started  to  fall.  To  this  list,  should,  perhaps,  be  added 
the  suicide  of  the  wife  of  John  Cutler,  who  hung  herself  in  1801, 
and  Nancy  Waugh  who  thus  destroyed  herself.  At  a  later  peri 
od,  also,  that  of  a  stranger  who,  in  the  first  years  of  the  settle 
ment,  was  drowned  in  attempting  to  wade  through  the  Winooski, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  his  way  to  Montpelier,  having 
probably  mistaken  the  right  place  for  fording. 

And  while  on  the  subject  of  fatal  casualties,  it  may  not,  per 
haps,  here  be  amiss  to  mention  one  or  two  of  the  most  remarka 
ble  escapes  from  death,  and  acts  of  perilous  daring,  which  oc- 
cured  in  this  town,  and  which  were  often  the  themes  of  fireside 
conversation  for  years  after  they  happened. 

In  the  summer  of  about  the  year  17(JO,  Mr.  Theophilus  W. 
Brooks,  of  Montpelier,  came  very  near  experiencing  the  same 
iiielaucholly  fate  that  befel  him  on  the  memorable  Thanksgiving 
night  of  the  following  year.  He,  in  company  of  Thomas  Davis, 
was  passing  along  the  steep  rocky  banks  of  the  North  Branch 
just  above  the  Poor  House  about  a  mile  above  the  village,  where 
his  feet  slipping  on  the  wet  and  slimy  rocks,  he  was  precipitated 
into  a  deep  hole  below,  and  being  unable  to  swim,  soon  sunk  to 
the  bottom  and  lost  all  consciousness.  Mr.  Davis  in  the  mean 
rime  hastily  procured  a  long  pole  and  thrusting  it  down  to  the 
drowning  man,  twisted  it  into  his  clothes,  drew  him  up  to  the 
surface  at  the  shore  and  soon  succeeded  in  bringing  him  to  life. 

Not  far  from  the  year  1806,  Mr.  Charles  Stevens,  who  lived 
on  East  Hill,  made  a  horse-back  journey  to  Massachusetts,  pass 
ing  dowTn  on  his  way  from  home  over  the  high  bridge  across  the 
Winooski  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  below  Daggctt's  Mills 
village.  During  his  absence  the  bridge  had  been  stripped  of  all 
the  plank,  preparatory  to  replanking  or  putting  in  some  new 
string-pieces.  While  the  bridge  was  in  this  dismantled  condi 
tion — which  condition  was  wholly  unknown  and  unsuspected  by 
Mr.  Stevens — lie  reached  home,  on  his  return  from  his  journey, 
at  a  late  hour  on  an  unusually  dark  night,  totally  unconscious 
that  he  had  passed  through  any  peril  in  passing  over  the  river, 
which  was  only  a  mile  or  two  from  his  house. 

u  Which  way  did  you  come  ?"  asked  his  family. 

"•  The  way  I  went,  of  course." 

••  No,  you  couldn't,  for  the  river  is  roaring  high,  and  there  is 
not  a  single  plank  on  the  bridge.'* 

ik  Yes,  I  did  come  the  same  way  and  over  the  same  bridge, 
and  you  can't  beat  me  out  of  it." 


158  HISTORY  OF   MONTPELIER, 

Here  was  a  complete  issue,  and  neither  party  being  in  the 
least  disposed  to  yield,  they  the  next  morning,  in  company  with 
a  neighbor,  a  Mr.  Parker,  repaired  to  the  bridge,  and  to  their 
amazement  discovered,  by  the  tracks  on  the  ground  and  the  calk 
marks  of  the  animal's  shoes  on  the  timber,  that  the  horse,  after 
selecting  the  broadest  hewn  string-piece,  had  mounted  it  and 
passed  so  quietly  and  safely  over  it  to  the  other  side  that  the 
rider  was  not  made  aware,  in  the  great  darkness  of  the  night, 
that  he  was  undergoing  the  dangerous  transit. 

We  have  seen  published,  we  think,  later  accounts  of  similar 
feats  performed  in  the  darkness  of  night  by  horses  bearing  their 
unconscious  riders  in  safety  over  bridge  timbers  ;  but  of  the  truth 
of  such  accounts  there  is  much  room  to  doubt,  and  it  is  not  im 
possible  that  this  one,  which  is  as  true  as  it  was  remarkable,  and 
which  soon  passed  into  one  of  the  wide  spread  traditions  of  the 
country,  may  have  been  the  only  original  of  all  such  reported 
stories. 

About  1806,  there  moved  into  Montpelier  village  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Parrot  Blaisdell,  who,  while  becoming  a  permanent  res 
ident  and  rearing  a  smart  and  respectable  family  here,  exhibited 
perhaps  more  personal  daring,  and  by  his  acts,  caused  his  name 
to  be  coupled  with  more  perilous  adventures  and  hair-breadth 
escapes  than  any  man  of  his  day  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Soon  after  moving  here  he  became  the  driver  and  perhaps  the 
proprietor  of  the  principal  stage  team  running  from  Windsor  to 
Montpelier.  On  one  of  his  return  trips  from  Windsor,  when  the 
old  trussel  bridge  across  the  river,  where  the  present  Arch 
Bridge  stands,  had  been  partially  carried  away  by  flood,  or  other 
wise  rendered  impassable,  Mr.  Blaisdell,  with  his  passengers, 
reached  the  river,  which,  as  it  was  before  the  dam  was  built,  he 
had  forded  with  his  team  on  the  outward-bound  trip,  a  short  dis 
tance  above  the  bridge  at  the  head  of  the  falls.  He  now,  how 
ever,  found  the  river  much  swolen  by  a  recent  rain,  turbid,  and  of 
a  strong,  swift  current ;  and  he  was  warned  not  to  attempt  the 
dangerous  passage.  But  he  despised  the  asserted  danger,  and 
saying  he  was  not  to  be  frightened  by  a  little  flash-flood  of  dirty 
water,  plunged  his  horses  into  the  angry  stream.  But  his  horses 
soon  lost  their  footing  and  the  whole  team  was  swept  rapidly 
down  towards  the  falls.  He  had  the  coolness  and  presence  of 
mind,  however,  so  to  guide  the  horses  as  to  bring  up  the  carriage 
against  the  old  trussels  standing  about  midway  the  stream,  when 
by  an  effort  of  his  great  strength  he  seized  the  trussel  with  one 
arm  and  a  part  of  the  carriage  with  the  other,  and  kept  the 
whole  establishment  on  the  brink  of  the  falls  till  help  arrived, 
ropes  were  fastened  to  the  carriage,  and  carriage,  horses  and  all 


HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER.  159 

were  drawn  safely  ashore,  with  no  other  damage  than  what 
might  have  been  occasioned  by  the  drenching  they  received. 
But  the  greatest  and  most  note-worthy  feat  ever  performed  by 
Mr.  Blaisdell  was  achieved  by  him  a  year  or  two  subsequent  to 
the  one  just  related ;  when,  having  changed  his  route,  he  was 
running  his  stage  between  Monlpelier  and  Burlington.  On  one 
of  his  return  trips  from  the  last  named  place,  with  a  full  load 
of  passangers,  he  came  on  to  the  top  of  Rock  Bridge,  or  Blais- 
delCs  Rock,  as  it  was  often  afterwards  called,  about  a  mile  south 
of  Waterbury,  on  the  Moretown  side  of  the  Winooski — it  being 
the  difficult  and  dangerous  pass  over  or  along  which  Thomas 
Davis  contrived  to  get  the  first  wagon  ever  introduced  into  Mont- 
pelier,  as  described  in  a  former  chapter.  When  the  first  passa 
ble  wagon  road  was  wrought  along  here,  a  part  of  this  ledge  had 
been  blasted  out  along  the  face  of  the  rock,  which  descended 
perpendicularly  about  sixty  feet  to  the  bed  of  the  river  ;  but  the 
road  thus  made  was  barely  sufficient  for  one  team  to  pass  at  a 
time,  while  no  railing  had  been  provided,  and  a  long,  steep  pitch 
succeeded  down  the  rocky  road  beyond.  As  the  stage  was  on 
the  descent,  and  at  the  narrowest  part  of  this  shelf  road,  with 
the  wheels  on  one  side  within  a  yard  of  the  precipice,  the  iron 
ring  confining  the  pole  of  the  stage  to  the  neck-yoke  of  the  horses 
suddenly  broke,  giving  a  cant  and  direction  to  the  now  fast  mov 
ing  carriage,  which  in  a  second  or  two  more  must  have  run  it  off 
the  brink,  and  proved  the  destruction  of  all  and  everything  aboard. 
At  that  critical  instant,  Mr.  Blaisdell  suddenly  leaped  on  to,  and 
over  the  near  horse,  arid  landing  before  him  in  the  road,  seized 
the  falling  pole  with  one  hand  and  the  neck-yoke  with  the  other, 
gave  the  carnage  the  right  direction,  and,  as  swiftly  as  it  was 
going,  guided  it  safely  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Blaisdell  ran  another,  and,  to 
him,  a  much  more  costly  risk.  The  two  rival  parties,  Democrats 
and  Federalists,  were  celebrating  the  4th  of  July,  on  different 
sides  of  the  same  field  in  Williamstown,  when  Mr.  Blaisdell, 
who  was  engaged  in  firing  a  cannon,  and  probably  urging  the 
process  hotly  in  order  to  outdo  that  of  the  other  party  in  quick 
ness  of  loading  and  firing,  had  one  arm  wholly  blown  away  by 
the  premature  discharge  of  the  piece,  and  lost  the  sight  of  one 
of  his  eyes. 


160  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELTER. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  STANDARDS  AMONG  THE  PEOPLE.  LIT 
ERATURE,  AND  OFFICES  HELD  IN  TOWN,  WITH  CONCLUDING  RK- 
FLECTIONS. 

The  prevailing  feature  of  Montpelier  village  has  ever  been  of 
a  business  character.  The  examples  of  the  enterprising  and 
energetic  founder  of  the  town,  Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  and  the 
spirit  he  infused  into  his  sons-in-law,  and  those  whom  he  had  in 
various  ways  assisted  to  start  in  life,  all  of  whom  became  leading 
and  influential  men  in  the  place,  continued  to  operate  until  its 
svhole  society  assumed  the  established  tone,  which  has  ever,  to 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  peculiarly  marked  it — a  tone  in  which 
the  desire  of  activity  in  business  and  its  acquisitions,  has  largely 
predominated — in  which  the  useful  took  precedence  of  the  or 
namental;  and  matters  of  fact  the  precedence  of  matters  of  taste 
and  speculation.  Under  such  prevailing  influences,  therefore, 
intellectual  excellence  has  not  found,  perhaps,  the  same  relative 
•position  here  as  in  many  other  places  ;  and  general  intellectual 
improvement,  even  of  the  young,  has  not  engrossed  the  first 
thought  of  the  people.  As  the  world  is  made  up  wherein  the 
few  are  rich  and  the  many  are  not,  and  as  the  most  pressing 
wants  will  ever  naturally  govern  the  views  and  actions  of  the 
many,  wealth  is  omnipotent ;  and  it  was  not  the  blessing  of 
Montpelier  to  have  her  wealthiest  men  the  most  liberally  edu 
cated,  else  a  different  appreciation  of  intellectual  character 
might  have  here  obtained,  and  a  different  standard  of  superiority 
might  have  been  here  established. 

And  yet,  to  the  credit  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  Montpelier,  it 
may  be  truthfully  asserted,  that  they  have  been  generally  very 
public  spirited  and  patriotic,  in  all  that  related  to  the  material 
improvement  of  this  village  ;  and  even  for  its  intellectual  ad 
vancement,  indeed,  they  may  have  been  always  sufficiently  liber 
al  according  to  their  appreciation  of  the  object.  And  that  ap 
preciation  has  always  extended  to  the  necessity  of  a  common 
education,  and,  in  several  instances,  to  the  full  advantages  of  the 
liberal  education  of  both  sons  and  daughters.  These  instances, 
together  with  those  of  the  less  wealthy,  but  in  this  respect  more 
ambitious  class,  have  been  the  means  of  furnishing,  during'  the 


HISIOKi'    "I"   MOVIPKLIKR.  1()1 

last  forty  years,  over  a  do/on  College  graduates,  and  as  many 
young  ladies,  who  have  received  the  best  of  female  educations,  at 
institutions  abroad.  The  views  and  tastes  of  the  young  gentle 
men  and  ladies,  thus  educated  and  returning  to  their  native  vil 
lage,  have  latterly  been  producing  a  very  perceptible  e fleet  in 
modifying  and  elevating  the  general  tone  of  our  village  society. 
Montpelier,  indeed,  has  new  been  wanting,  when  compared  with 
other  places  of  the  size,  of  a  full  proportion  of  intellectual  power, 
however  much  its  inability  to  command  the  means  for  its  devel- 
opcment  may  have  prevented  the  fulfillment  of  its  highest  mis 
sion.  The  character  of  the  legal  profession  of  the  village  has 
been  second  to  that  of  none  in  the  State.  The  medical  profes 
sion  has  been  ever  highly  respectable  for  the  skill  and  talents  of 
practitioners,  and  the  clerical,  at  times,  quite  distinguished  for 
ability  and  eloquence.  Montpelier,  also,  has  had  much  more 
than  an  ordinary  share  of  indigenous  literature,  and  some  of  its 
several  native  authors  have  made  themselves  known  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  State.  And  as  a  list  of  these  authors  and  their 
respective  works  seems  necessary  to  make  up  a  full  history  of 
the  town,  we  will  proceed  to  enumerate  them,  with  the  dates  and 
places  of  publication : 

*•'*  The  Indian  Captive,'''  by  Horace  Stecle,  containing  the  full 
est  account  of  the  Burning  of  Rnycillon  ever  written,  was  pub 
lished  in  Montpelier  in  one  thin  volume  about  the  year  1812. 

u  Baylies'  Index"  a  law  work  in  three  volumes,  embracing 
brief  digests  of  the  decisions  of  English  and  American  Courts, 
by  the  Hon.  Nicholas  Baylies,  was  published  in  Montpclicr,  in 
1814,  and  widely  circulated  among  the  profession. 

Mr.  Baylies  also  published  in  Montpclier  a  work  on  l*  Fi'<'<> 
Agency^  of  210  pages  in  1821. 

%t  The  Battleof  Plattsburgh"  a  pamphlet  poem  of  some  merit 
by  Samuel  Wood  worth,  nephew  of  Xiba  W.,  was  published  in 
1815. 

'<  The  Gift."  a  volume  of  172  pages,  of  highly  creditable  mis 
cellaneous  poems  by  Miss  Sophia  Watrons,  was  published  in 
Montpelier  in  1840. 

The  Reverend  Chester  Wright  published  in  Montpelier  previ 
ous  to  1830,  several  sermons  delivered  on  different  occasions, 
all  marked  by  pathos,  earnest  thought,  and  a  spirit  of  deep  de 
votion. 

The  Reverend  John  Gridley.  published  in  Montpeiier  in  18 18, 
a  discourse  delivered  on  the  preceding  thanksgiving  day,  em 
bracing  a  succinct,  but  valuable  "  History  of  Montpolicr." 

The  Reverend  Wm.  IT.  Lord  JIMS,  within  the  last  few  vears, 
published  at  the  request  of  Ins  people  and  others,  tlio  following 
sermons  :  21 


16'2  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER, 

A  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  and  character  of  Hon.  John 
McLean  of  Cabot,  Feb.  1855. 

A  fast  day  sermon  on  National  Hospitality,  April  1855. 

A  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  and  character  of  Lucretin 
Prentiss,  wife  of  Samuel  Prentiss,  June  1855. 

A  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  and  character  of  Gen.  K.  P. 
Walton,  Nov.  1855. 

A  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  and  character  of  Hon.  Samuel 
Prentiss,  Jan.  1857. 

A  seini-centenial  sermon,  on  occasion  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniver 
sary  of  the  organization  of  the  church  in  Montpelier,  July  1858. 

A  funeral  sermon  on  the  death  and  character  of  the  Hon.  F. 
F.  Merrill,  May,  1859. 

And  besides  these  he  is  the  author  of  the  extensively  known 
Biographical  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  Prentiss. 
which  appeared  some  years  ago  in  Livingston's  Law  Magazine  in 
New  York,  and  also  of  an  address  delivered  before  the  Literary 
Societies  of  Vermont  University  at  Commencement,  Aug.  1852. 
and  an  address  delivered  before  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society,  at 
Dartmouth  College,  at  Commencement,  July  1857. 

All  these  have  mot  with  a  most  Mattering  reception,  and  some 
of  them  particularly  exhibit  a  clearness  of  thought,  discrimina 
tion  and  scope  of  mind,  as  well  as  literary  taste,  equalling  those 
of  some  of  the  most  successful  writers  of  the  day. 

The  Reverend  F.  F.  Shelton,  Rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Montpelier,  has  been  quite  a  voluminous  writer,  having  pub 
lished  the  following  works : 

ki  Salandei-  and  the  Dragon^'  an  allegorical  moral  tale,  in  184^. 

u  The  Rector  of  Bardolph^  a  social  and  religious  tale,  in  1849. 

^  Chrystalline"  a  tale,  in  1850. 

"  Up  the  River"  a  volume  of  miscellaneous  papers  first  con 
tributed  to  the  N.  Y.  Knickerbocker,  in  1850. 

^  Peeps  from  the  Bc/fryS'  another  picture  of  social  and  reli 
gious  life,  in  1855, 

Mr.  Shelton,  as  a  writer,  is  original,  piquant  and  instructive, 
and  his  works  are  well  written,  and  all  involving  a  high  moral 
purpose,  have  deservedly  given  him  quite  a  wide-spread  repu 
tation  as  an  author. 

"  Poems,  by  Charles  G.  Eastman,*'  were  published  in  Montpe 
lier  in  1848,  in  a  A'olume  containing  208  pages,  but  embracing 
only  a  part  of  what  he  had  before  and  what  he  has  since  written. 
Most  of  these  poems,  are  of  a  pastoral  and  descriptive  character, 
delineating  rural  scenes,  and  the  every  day  character  and  events 
of  country  life,  all  entirely  original  in  conception  and  style  of 
execution,  and  many  of  them,  such  as  TJie  Home  Picture,  com- 


HISI'ORY   OF   MONTPELIEK.  168 

menclng  with  w;  The  farmer  sat  in  his  easy  chair,"  -'  Ihe  Town 
Pauper's  Burial^  and  the  u  Scene  in  a  Vermont  Winter  "  are 
scarcely  excelled,  in  kind,  by  any  American  poet.  These  effu 
sions  of  Mr.  Eastman,  though  only  the  fruits  of  his  leisure  hours, 
have  well  established  his  reputation  as  a  descriptive  poet,  in 
this  country,  and  have  even  met  the  favorable  consideration  of 
Knglish  critics. 

0.  P.  Thompson  has  written  and  published  the  following 
works  ; 

kt  Mai/  Martin,  or  The  Money  Digger*"  a  newspaper  prize 
published  in  Montpelier,  in  book  form,  in  1885. 

wt>  The  Green  Mountain  Boys"  864  pages,  was  first  published 
in  Montpelier  in  1840,  afterwards  stereotyped  and  published  in 
Boston. 

•;  Locke  Amsden,  or  the  School  Master  "  281  pages,  stereo 
typed,  was  published  in  Boston  in  1847. 

k*  The  Rangers,  or  the  Tory'*  Daughter  "  329  pages,  stereo 
typed,  was  published  in  Boston  in  1851. 

v*  Tales  of  the  Green  Moiuitaius"  Ac.  including  May  Martin, 
8SO,  stereotyped,  was  published  in  Boston  in  1852. 

•w  Gaut  Gurley,  or  the  Trappers  of  Umbagog"  pages  860, 
stereotyped,  was  published  in  Boston  in  1857. 

tk  T/ie  Doomed  Chief,  or  Two  Hundred  Years  Ago*'  pages 
473,  stereotyped,  was  published  in  Philadelphia  at  the  com 
mencement  of  1800. 

Of  the  above  named  works,  two.  at  least,  "  May  Martin"  and 
••  The  Green  Mountain  Boys"  and,  it  is  said,  some  of  the 
others,  have  been  republished  in  England.  None  of  them  ex- 
«.'cpt  the  last,  now  but  just  out,  have  passed  through  less  than  six 
editions,  while  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  has  passed  through 
fifty,  and  May  Martin  a  still  greater  number  of  editions. 

This  town  has  also  been  the  residence,  for  greater  or  less 
periods,  at  different  times,  of  several  distinguished  men,  who 
subsequently  became  widely  known  for  their  successful  author 
ship,  in  the  honors  of  which  this  place  may,  perhaps,  justly  claim 
some  participation.  The  principal  of  these  are  :  the  Reverend 
Samuel  Hopkins,  the  settled  Congregational  Minister  and  resi 
dent,  of  the  village  from  1831  to  1885,  who  has  recently  published 
a  very  able  and  learned  work  of  Ecclesiastical  history  in  relation 
to  the  Scceders  and  Puritans  :  the  Reverend  John  S.  C.  Abbott, 
who  resided  and  preached  here  in  the  summer  of  1835,  and  who 
has  since  become  a  very  prolific  author  of  both  religious  and  his 
torical  productions  ;  and  lastly,  the  Honorable  Isaac  F.Redfield, 
for  the  last  twenty-five  years  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  for  nearly  the  last  decade  its  Chief  Justice,  who  resided 


164  HISTORY'    OF    MOMl'ELIKii. 

here  over  a  dozen  years  following  183-3,  and  who  has  receutly 
written  and  publislied  a  "Practical  Treatise  on  the  Law  of 
Railways,"  which  has  been  pronounced,  both  in  this  country 
and  England,  to  be  the  best  work  on  the  subject  extant,  and 
which  has  at  once  given  him  rank  with  the  first  of  American 
Jurists. 

In  addition  to  the  productions  of  more  regular  authors,  and 
the  volumes  of  Court  Decisions  which  might  be  collected  from 
the  administering  of  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  lion.  Samuel 
Prentiss  and  the  lion.  Isaac  F.  Redficld,  we  should  perhaps  men 
tion  another  kind  of  literature,  of  which  Montpclicr  lias  prob 
ably  been  more  prolific  than  any  town  in  the  State — we  allude 
to  its  newspaper  literature.  For  the  last  fifty  years  the  town. 
witli  its  surroundings,  has  sustained  two,  and  for  the  last  twenty 
years  four  weekly  journals  on  the  average,  which  have  been 
among  the  best  conducted  of  country  newspapers.  These  jour 
nals  have  been  the  u  Vermont  Watchman,"  the  old  Democratic 
"Free  Press"  and  its  successor,  the  "Vermont  Patriot,"  the 
"State  Journal,"  the  "  Voice  of  Freedom "  and  its  successor, 
the  "Green  Mountain  Freeman,."  the  "  Christian  Messenger," 
and  the  "  Christian  Repository/1  The  editors  of  the  "  Vermont 
Watchman"  have  been  successively  Samuel  Goss,  Ezekicl  P. 
Walton,  and  E.  P.  Walton,  Jr. :  of  the  "Free  Press"  and 
"Vermont  Patriot,"  Derrick  Sibley,  George  W.  11  ill,  J.  T. 
Marston,  and  Charles  G.  Eastman;  of  the  "State  Journal,"  C. 
L.  Knapp ;  of  the  "  Voice  of  Freedom"  and  the  "  Green  Moun 
tain  Freeman,1'  C.  L.  Knapp,  Joseph  Poland,  Jacob  Scott,  D. 
P.  Thompson  and  S.  S,  Boyce  :  of  the  "  Christian  Messenger," 
Rev.  E.  J.  Scott  and  Rev.  A.  Webster  :  and  of  the  "  Christian 
Repository,  "Rev.  Eli  Ballon. 

Montpelier  village,  also,  from  lirst  to  last,  has  been  honored 
with  its  full  proportion  of  State  and  National  offices.  Besides 
numerous  minor  State  officers,  it  has  furnished,  at  different  times, 
three  State  Treasurers,  E.  P.  Jewett,  George  Howes  and 
John  A.  Page ;  six  Secretaries  of  State,  David  Wing,  C.  L. 
Knapp,  Timothy  Merrill,  Ferrand  F.  Merrill,  D.  P.  Thompson 
and  C.  W.  Willard  ;  three  Clerks  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  Timothy  Merrill,  F.  F.  Merrill  and  George  R.  Thompson  ; 
three  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Nicholas  Baylies,  Samuel 
Prentiss  and  Isaac  F.  Redfield  ;  two  U.  S.  Senators,  Samuel 
Prentiss  and  William  Upham  ;  two  Members  of  Congress,  Lucius 
B.  Peck  and  E.  P.  Walton  ;  one  U.  S.  District  Judge,  Samuel 
Prentiss  ;  one  U.  S.  District  Court  Cierk,  Edward  H.  Prentiss  ; 
and  one  Purser  in  the  Navy,  Charles  C.  Upham.  Of  County  offi 
cers,  and  those  of  County  appointment.  Montpelier  has  furnished 


HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIKK.  > 

teii  Judges  of  Probate,  Sal  via  Collins,  Jeduthaii  Looinis,  Joseph 
Reed,  George  Worthington,  R.  R.  Keith,  D.  P.  Thompson,  Azcl 
Spalding,  J.  T.  Marston,  Joseph  Poland  and  Jacob  Scott ;  six 
Migh  Sheriffs,  George  Worthington,  R.  R.  Keith,  Isaiah  Silver, 
A.  A.  Sweet,  Geo.  W.  Barker  and  Joseph  W.Howes:  nine 
States  Attornies,  Timothy  Merrill,  Nicholas  Baylies,  William 
IJpham,  Azel  Spalding,  Homer  W.  Heaton,  Oramel  H.  Smith, 
Charles  Reed,  Stoddard  B.  Colby  and  Ferrand  P.  Merrill ;  live 
Side  Judges,  David  Wing,  Cyrus  Ware,  Joseph  Howes,  John 
Spalding  and  Daniel  Baldwin  ;  live  County  Clerks,  George  Rich, 
Joshua  Y.  Vail,  Stillman  Churchill,  D.  P.  Thompson  and  Luther 
Newcomb  ;  two  Councillors  elected  on  the  State  ticket,  Nicholas 
Baylies  and  George  Worthington  ;  and  six  Senators  elected  on 
the  County  ticket,  Araunah  Waterman,  Oramel  H.  Smith,  Woos- 
ter  Sprague,  Charles  G.  Eastman  and  Joseph  Poland. 

Having  thus  far  glanced  at  the  intellectual  condition  of  the 
society  of  Montpelier  village,  let  us  now  briefly  advert  to  the 
moral  standard  that  has  generally  obtained  in  this  community. 
We  do  not  here  use  the  word  moral  in  contradistinction  to  the 
more  vices,  or  mean  to  apply  it  to  the  personal  habits  of  the 
people,  virtuous  or  otherwise.  But  we  intend  by  the  term  to 
designate  the  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  of  justice  and  injustice, 
which  generally  prevails  in  community,  and  to  which,  in  cases  of 
disagreement,  men  may  appeal  as  a  sort  of  generally  acknowl 
edged  and  established  standard,  that  is  to  govern  all  men  con 
ducting  the  various  transactions  of  life.  In  this  sense,  if  we  ex 
cept  the  period  of  about  a  do/en  years  immediately  succeeding 
1 800,  when  the  new  elements  of  village  society,  which  had  been 
brought  together  by  the  prospects  of  gaining  wealth  by  trade  or 
of  realizing  other  objects  of  ambition,  were  in  a  transition  state, 
and  permitted  a  more  unchecked  action — in  this  sense,  the  moral 
standard  predominating  among  the  people  of  Montpelier  village 
lias  always  been,  when  compared  with  that  of  other  country 
villages,  a  sound  and  healthy  one.  Not  one  in  a  hundred  will 
commit  direct  frauds  in  a  trade  :  and  if  a  larger  proportion  com 
mit  them  indirectly,  or  enter  on  practices  familiarly  known  by 
the  appellation  of  gouging,  they  are  so  quickly  exposed,  de 
nounced,  and  made  to  lose  caste  in  respectable  society,  as  to 
prevent  any  frequent  repetition  of  such  practices  by  them,  and 
to  operate  as  a  constantly  restraining  example  on  those  of  like 
secret  propensities,  as  well  as  on  the  still  larger  class  who  nat 
urally  possess  only  a  weak  moral  sense  to  guide  and  govern  them 
in  their  business  transactions,  and  in  the  character  of  their  deal 
ings  and  conduct  among  their  fellow-men.  Transient  dealers,  it 
is  true,  have,  from  time  to  time,  here  established  themselves,  and 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEK- 

apparently  flourished  for  a  brief  period  while  acting  in  violation 
of  these  wholesome  morals  of  trade  ,  and  then,  perhaps,  finding 
eventual  success  impossible  under  their  loose  or  dishonest  prac 
tices,  have  failed,  in  order  to  make  what  regular  and  honest 
courses  would  have  brought  them.  But  finding  themselves 
marked  men,  and  seeing  no  prospect  of  gaining  any  permanent 
footing  in  good  society,  they  have  generally,  like  other  tempo 
rary  embodiments  of  evil,  soon  passed  away,  leaving  their  places 
to  be  filled  by  better  men.  And  attempts  at  success  in  trade  of 
this  kind  will  doubtless  continue  to  occur,  at  intervals ;  but. 
those  making  them  need  never  expect  from  them  either  wealth 
or  reputation  :  and  the  fewer  they  make  of  such  attempts  the 
better  for  them  and  the  community. 

We  have  before  spoken  of  an  essential  reformation  in  trade  as 
occuring  during  the  period  immediately  following  the  years  180l» 
and  1810.  That  reformation  was  permanent,  and  was  a  most 
important  one  for  the  interests  of  the  place,  while  the  system  of 
general  and  often  long  credits  was  continued.  But  another,  and 
perhaps  equally  important  reformation,  has,  during  the  last  doz 
en  years,  been  evidently  in  rapid  progress.  This  consists  in  tlio 
short  credit  system  with  the  responsible,  and  the  pay  down*  in- 
ready  cash  system,  with  all  others.  By  this  system,  all  tempta 
tions  for  overcharging  on  book,  and  false  promises  of  lenitv  in 
mode  and  time  of  payment,  are  taken  away  on  the  part  of  die- 
seller  ; — the  desire  of  fast  living,  or  the  thoughtless  running  up  of 
ruinous  debts,  obviated,  on  the  part  of  the  purchaser,  and  habits 
of  frugality  and  industry  continually  promoted  on  the  part  of  all. 
And  perhaps  it  will  not  be  too  much  t<>  say  of  this  or  any  other 
community,  that  generally  the  more  limited  the  credit  system 
among  them,  the  less  will  mortifying  poverty,  social  contentions, 
neighborhood  quarrels,  and  vexatious  and  impoverishing  litiga 
tion  abound,  and  the  more  systematic,  domestic  economy,  regular 
habits  of  industry,  and  happy  pecuniary  independence  prevail,  to 
the  continual  advantage  of  individual  weal,  social  advancement 
and  the  public  welfare. 

In  all  the  agricultural  portions  of  the  original  township  of 
Montpelier,  the  standard  of  general  intelligence,  morals  in  con 
tradistinction  to  the  vices,  and  moral  honesty  in  dealing,  having 
been  mainly  exempt  from  the  fluctuations  which  we  have  named 
as  marking  our  village  society,  have  ever  been,  from  the  first  set 
tlement  to  the  present,  day,  quite  as  high,  and  every  Avay  as 
creditable  to  the  proverbially  industrious  and  thrifty  occupants, 
as  those  prevailing  among  the  people  of  the  best  farming  towns 
of  the  State.  We  have  before  spoken  of  the  general  taste  for 
reading,  and  the  consequent  diffusion  of  general  intelligence 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPBLIER.  1»>7 

among  our  farmers,  growing,  mainly,  as  wo  supposed,  out  of  the 
wise  and  provident  provisions  of  the  first  settlers  for  libraries 
and  schools.  That  taste  and  intelligence  they  have  ever  sinee 
nobly  maintained.  The  common  schools  have  generally  been 
supplied  with  the  better  class  of  teachers,  and  the  schools  them 
selves  maintained  always  in  as  good,  and  often  in  a  better  state 
of  forwardness,  than  our  village  common  schools.  They  have 
furnished  their  full  proportion  of  professional  men.  In  the  pro 
fession  of  law,  William  Upham,  Shubael  Wheeler,  Humphrey 
Bennett,  and  Xahum  Peck,  Esqs.,  were  all  of  their  rearing.  In 
the  medical  profession  they  have  furnished  a  still  greater  num 
ber,  consisting  of  Dr.  Philip  Vincent,  Dr.  Eleazer  Hamblin,  Dr. 
Stephen  Peabody,  Dr.  Nathaniel  C.  Xing,  Dr.  Daniel  Corliss, 
Dr.  Charles  Clark,  Dr.  Milo  L.  Burnham,  Dr.  Isaac  Putnam,  Dr. 
Sunmer  Putnam,  Dr.  W.  II.  If.  Richardson,  and  Drs.  James 
Temple  ton  and  his  son.  They  have  furnished  at  least  two  Col 
lege  graduates  now  holding  high  positions  abroad — Marcus  Tul- 
lius  Cicero  Wing,  a  son  of  the  Hon.  David  Wing,  now  an  Epis 
copal  clergyman  and  Professor  in  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  and 
Nathaniel  George  Clark,  son  of  Dr.  Charles  Clark,  and  now 
a  Professor  of  the  Vermont  University  at  Burlington.  They 
have  likewise  supplied  a  fair  proportion  of  county  officers, 
among  the  most  prominent  of  whom  are  Royal  Wheeler,  State 
Senator  for  the  county,  Addison  Peck,  High  Sheriff,  Israel  Good 
win,  a  side  Judge  and  also  subsequently  a  County  Commissioner, 
and  Shubael  Wheeler,  side  Judge  and  County  Clerk. 

As  regards  general  wealth,  the  part  of  the  township  now 
known  as  East  Moutpelier,  when  reckoned  per  capita,  or  averag 
ed  among  the  people,  has,  till  within  a  recent  period,  taken  the 
precedence  of  the  village  part  of  the  original  town,  and  would 
doubtless  now  do  so,  but  for  the  recent  large  additions  to  the 
village  capital,  made  by  wealthy  new  comers,  among  whom  were 
some  from  East  Montpelier  itself,  who  have  consequently  been 
(he  means  of  changing  the  relative  amounts  of  the  wealth  of  the 
i  wo  divisions  against  the  latter  at  a  double  ratio.  But  with  all 
its  liabilities  to  constant  depletion  from  its  wealthy  and  influen 
tial  men  to  build  up  the  village,  and  with  all  its  lack  of  advan 
tages  for  rolling  up  large  individual  fortunes  by  trade,  this  por 
tion  of  the  old  township,  in  the  productiveness  of  its  soil,  in  the 
number  of  its  independent,  and  even  wealthy  farmers,  and  in  the 
general  thrift,  intelligence,  patriotism  and  stable  character  of  the 
great  mass  of  its  inhabitants,  has  ever  been  reckoned  among  the 
vory  best  agricultural  towns  in  the  State. 

To  sum  up  all,  then,  in  conclusion,  we  may  safely,  as  we  can 
proudly  say,  that  in  point  of  healthiness,  both  the  villacre  and 


168  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

the  town  of  Montpelicr  at  large,  as  we  think  we  have  before 
shown  by  something  more  reliable  than  mere  assertions,  must  be 
allowed  to  stand  at  least  among  the  most  favored  locations  to  be 
found,  not  only  in  our  generally  favored  Vermont,  but  in  all  the 
Northerly  States  of  the  Union. 

In  point  of  fertility  of  soil  and  general  productiveness,  the 
heavy  growths  of  luxuriant  and  never  failing  grasses — of  them 
selves  an  exhaustless  mine  of  wealth — the  thickset,  exuberant 
maize,  the  yellow  fields  of  waving  wheat,  oats  and  other  cereals, 
which,  in  their  season,  richly  clothe  the  meadows  and  uplands 
of  this  noble  township  ;  and  the  rare  and  beautiful  horses,  the 
herds  of  fat  or  fair-looking  neat  cattle,  and  the  flocks  of  thriving 
sheep,  that  graze  upon,  and  whiten  its  "  thousand  hills,"  all  com 
bine  to  prove  it  one  of  the  most  productive  places  ever  appro 
priated  by  culturist  or  herdsman. 

And,  finally,  in  point  of  solid,  spare  capital — the  best,  per 
haps,  of  all  proofs  of  the  productiveness  of  a  given  section  of 
country — the  village  of  Montpelier,  which  may  be  considered 
the  monied  reservoir  of  the  whole  original  township,  has  proba 
bly, — as  demonstrated  in  the  essential  aid  it  furnished  in  the  con 
struction  of  the  Vermoat  Central  Railroad,  and  especially  in  the 
rebuilding  of  the  State  House — no  equal  of  its  size,  in  the  State, 
and  few  or  no  superiors  in  any  interior  town  in  New  England. 

Such  has  been,  and  such  still  is,  in  all  its  parts  and  legal  di 
visions,  the  noble  and  important  town  of  Montpelier.  We  arc 
indeed  placed  in  a  cold  and  rough  country,  far  in  the  interior, 
with  no  great  marts  of  commerce,  manufactures  or  trade.  But  we 
all  have,  among  these  green  hills,  the  high  health  and  content 
ment,  which  combine  to  make  up  almost  the  sum  total  of  all  ani 
mal  happiness.  We  have  the  habits  of  industry  and  frugality, 
which  best  ensure  us  pecuniary  independence  as  a  separate  com 
munity,  and,  at  the  same  time,  best  assure,  with  our  admitted 
intelligence  and  virtue,  our  part  of  the  duty  of  perpetuating  our 
great  national  blessings  of  freedom  and  equal  rights.  Why, 
then, — while  other  and  apparently  more  favorably  situated  States 
and  communities  are,  at  short  intervals,  swept  by  the  commercial 
revulsions  that  are  scarcely  felt  by  us,  or  torn  by  political  dis 
sensions,  or  deeply  affected  in  their  essential  interests  by  the  po 
litical  changes  and  fluctuations  frequently  occurring  in  the  admin 
istration  of  our  general  government,  but  only  nominally  affect  in  ir 
our  interests — why  then,  should  we  not  say  with  the  poet— 

"  Dear  is  the  lot  to  which  our  souls  conform, 
And  dear  the  hills  which  lift  us  to  the  storrn  : 
And  as  a  child,  when  scaring  sounds  molrst, 
('lings  close  and  closer  to  the  mother's  breast. 
So  let  the  torrent's  and  the  whirldwind's  roar. 
But  bind  us  to  our  native  mountains  more." 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES, 


COLONEL  JACOB  DAVIS. 

Colonel  JACOB  DAVIS,  the  lirst  permanent  settler  of  Montpe- 
lier,  and  emphatically  the  chief  of  its  founders,  was  born  in  Ox 
ford,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1T3(J.  Unfortunately  his  de 
sccndants  have  preserved  no  memorials  of  his  youth,  and  only 
know  that  he  had  received  no  advantages  of  education  except 
from  the  poor  and  insufficient  common  schools  of  the  times.  In 
1754  the  part  of  the  town,  in  which  his  father's  family  resided, 
was  set  off  from  Oxford,  and  incorporated  into  a  new  town  bv 
the  name  of  Charlton  ;  and  in  this  newly  created  town,  he  con 
tinued  to  remain  until  he  removed  to  Vermont.  Soon  after 
reaching  the  years  of  manhood,  he  married  Rebecca  Davis,  of  the 
sanm>  town,  a  second  cousin,  and  an  intelligent,  amiable  and  eve 
ry  way  estimable  young  lady.  Mr.  Davis  must  have  been  a  man 
of  considerable  property  and  standing  in  his  town.  He  likewise 
must  have  become  noted  in  the  community  around  him  for  intel 
ligence  and  energy  of  character ;  and  he  probably  passed 
through  all  the  lower  grades  of  military  oflice  in  the  militia  of 
Worcester  county,  to  which  his  town  belonged,  and  became 
widely  known  as  an  active  patriot  in  the  cause  of  the  American 
Revolution.  For  in  1770,  we  find  him  in  the  public  service  of 
his  country,  acting  under  a  Colonel's  commission  of  one  of  th^ 


170  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

regiments  of  the  Massachusetts  detached  or  drafted  militia,  sub 
ject  to  the  call  of  Congress  or  the  Coinmander-in-Chief,  whenever 
the  occasion  might  require.  How  much  he  was  in  active  service 
i>  now  not  known  ;  but  the  traditions  of  his  family  make  him  to 
have  been  with  his  command  in  the  little  army  of  Washington  in 
the  memorable  crossing  of  the  Delaware  to  attack  the  Hessians 
at  Trenton  in  December,  1776.  He  was  subsequently  under  con 
tract  to  carry  the  United  States  mail  over  one  of  the  mail 
routes  in  his  part  of  Massachusetts,  and  for  some  years  continu 
ed  to  execute  the  duties  of  the  undertaking.  Another  event, 
which  occurred  a  few  years  after,  and  with  which  his  name, 
stands  honorably  connected,  here  deserves  to  be  especially  men 
tioned,  in  proof  of  his  public  spirit,  and  of  the  interest  he  took 
in  the  cause  of  education.  There  was  an  old  Jew  engaged  in 
some  kind  of  traffic,  who  owned  a  large  house,  or  ware-house,  in 
the  neighboring  town  of  Leicester,  and  Colonel  Davis,  in  con 
junction  with  another  gentleman  of  the  vicinity,  purchased  this 
building,  had  it  fitted  up  for  a  select  high  school,  and  soon 
caused  a  school  therein  to  be  put  in  operation.  This  was  the 
small  beginning  of  the  afterwards  well  known  Leicester  Acade 
my  in  Massachusetts,  the  founding  of  which  its  history  places  in 
1 774  ;  and  that  Colonel  Davis  was  considered  one  of  its  found 
ers  is  shown  by  the  fact,  that  since  his  death,  his  family  have 
received  a  letter  asking  for  his  portrait  that  it  might  be  placed 
in  the  Academy  building,  with  that  of  the  other  founders  of  that 
institution. 

Early  in  the  year  1780,  Colonel  Davis  had  turned  his  atten 
tion  to  the  selection  and  purchase  of  wild  land?,  in  the  new 
State  of  Vermont ;  and  he  was  among  the  most  active  in  pro 
curing  the  granting  and  chartering  of  the  township,  which  he 
caused  to  be  named  Montpelier,  at  the  October  session  of  the 
Legislature  of  Vermont  in  that  year,  though  the  charter,  on  ac 
count  of  the  delay  caused  in  the  collection  of  the  fees  required 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  171 

by  the  State,  from  the  different  proprietors,  was  not  issued  until 
the  following  August.  From  that  time  to  the  commencement 
of  the  meetings  of  the  proprietors  in  the  winter  of  1780,  which 
lie  attended.  Colonel  Davis  appears  to  have  been  energetically 
engaged  in  his  private  business,  at  Charlton,  or  in  public  en 
terprises,  like  the  one  above  mentioned.  But  from  the  date  last 
named,  and  perhaps  the  year  before,  he  was  obviously  employed 
in  disposing  of  his  quite  handsome  property  in  Massachusetts, 
and  arrangh-g  all  his  affairs  for  removal  to  his  newly  elected 
home  in  the  wilds  of  Vermont :  and  accordingly,  in  the  winter 
of  1787,  after  having  made,  during  the  previous  summer  and 
fall,  several  journeys  into  the  State  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  proprietors,  commence  the  survey  of  the  new  township, 
in  which  he  had  secured  three  rights,  or  about  one  thousand 
acres,  and  make  selection  of  Pitches  for  the  occupation  of  him 
self  and  sons,  he  removed  his  family  to  Brookfield,  then  the  near 
est  settled  town  to  Montpelier ;  and  early  in  the  following 
spring,  still  leaving  his  wife  and  daughters  at  Brookfield,  till  y 
comfortable  home  could  be  provided  for  them,  he  came  with  his 
sons  and  a  hired  man  to  make  his  opening  in  the  dark  forests  of 
Montpelier.  But  as  his  career,  for  the  next  twelve  or  fifteen 
years,  involved,  to  a  remarkable  degree,  the  history  of  the  town, 
•luring  that  period,  which  we  have  minutely  given  in  the  first 
chapters  of  this  work,  and  which,  better  than  anything  we  could 
here  add,  displays  the  leading  features  of  his  truly  remarkable 
character,  we  Avill  pass  over  these  years,  and  hasten  to  the  con- 
eluding  incidents  of  his  eventful  life, 

Somewhere  near  the  year  1800  he  became  involved  in  several 
large  and  vexatious  lawsuits,  growing  out  of  disputed  land  titles 
or  the  sales  of  lands  he  had  effected  through  his  agencies  under 
foreign  landholders.  In  one  of  these,  for  want  of  his  ability  to 
make  legal  proof  of  payments  that  the  distant  proprietors  had 
received,  a  large  judgment  was  obtained  in  the  United  States 


172  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEK. 

Circuit  Court  against  him,  which  was  considered  by  himself,  his 
family  and  friends,  so  unjust  that  he,  with  their  concurrence,  re 
solved  never  to  pay  it.  And  in  pursuance  of  this  determination, 
lie  conveyed  to  his  sons  and  sons-in-law,  the  principal  part  of  his 
attachable  property,  and,  removing  his  family  to  Burlington,  so 
as  to  be  within  the  limits  of  Chittenden  county  jail  yard,  invited 
the  service  of  the  execution  taken  out  against  him  on  his  own 
person.  Here  in  Burlington,  he  led  a  quiet  life  for  over  a  dozen 
years,  during  which  frequent  oilers  of  compromises  were  made 
him  by  the  plaintiffs  in  the  suit,  which  he  steadily  rejected  till 
the  winter  of  1814,  when  they  made  an  offer  so  nearly  amount 
ing  to  a  relinquishment  of  their  whole  claim,  and  so  virtually 
involving  an  admission  of  its  injustice,  that  he  accepted  it,  and 
the  whole  matter  in  dispute  was  amicably  settled.  But  before 
he  became  prepared  to  remove,  as  he  was  about  to  do,  to  his  be 
loved  Montpelier,  he  was  attacked  by  an  acute  disease  whieli 
terminated  his  active  and  eventful  life  on  the  9th  of  April,  1814. 
His  remains  were  brought  to  Montpelier  for  interment  and  a 
broad  tomb-stone  marking  the  place  where  they  repose  may  now 
be  found  in  the  old  village  grave-yard. 

In  person,  Col.  Davis  was  six  feet  high,  broad-shouldered, 
compactly  formed  and  well  proportioned,  with  unusually  large 
bones  and  muscles.  His  face  was  round  favored,  and  handsome 
ly  featured,  and  his  whole  appearance  dignified  and  commanding. 
Of  his  great  physical  powers  we  have  previously  given  one  in 
stance  in  his  ability  to  slash  one  acre  of  forest  land  in  a  day. 
Let  one  other  suffice.  Old  Mr.  Lev!  Humphrey,  one  of  the  first 
settlers,  who  died  in  this  town,  August  1859,  at  the  age  of  nine 
ty-three  years,  told  us,  about  a  fortnight  before  his  death,  that  he 
well-remembered  being  one  day  at  Col.  Davis'  log  house,  when 
the  latter  requested  two  of  his  strongest  hired  men  to  go  into 
the  yard  and  bring  in,  for  a  back-log  for  their  long  open  fire 
place,  a  out  of  green  maple  four  or  more  feet  long  and  nearly 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  173 

two  feet  iii  diameter.  in  eompliauce,  they  took  each  hold  of 
an  end,  but  reported  that  they  were  unable  to  bring  it  in,  and 
were  preparing  to  roll  it  up  to  the  door  with  handspikes,  when 
the  Colonel,  having  noticed  their  failure  to  take  up  the  log,  caine 
out,  motioned  them  aside,  and  grasping  the  ends  with  his  long 
arms,  lifted,  inarched  into  the  house  with  it,  and  threw  U  on  to 
the  lire,  pleasantly  remarking  to  them  as  lie  did  so,  that  u  they 
did  not  appear  to  be  any  great  things  at  log-lifting."  But  Col. 
Davis's  physical  powers  were  of  small  account  in  the  comparison 
with  the  other  strong  traits  of  the  man.  Of  Ids  enterprise,  en- 
orgy,  judgment  and  far-reaching  sagacity,  we  have  already 
sufficiently  spoken.  But  even  they  were  not  all  the  good  quali 
ties  of  his  character.  No  needy  man  ever  went  empty-handed 
from  his  door.  He  ever  gave  employment  of  some  kind  to  all 
who  asked  for  it.  And  so  well  he  rewarded  all  his  employees, 
that  no  reasonable  man  in  the  whole  settlement  was  ever  heard 
to  complain  of  the  amount  of  wages  he  paid  or  any  unfair  con 
duct  in  his  dealings. 


174  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 


REBECCA  DAVIS. 

The  efficient  help-meet  of  the  energetic  man  whose  life  and 
character  we  have  been  brieily  sketching,  is  most  surely  descry- 
iug  of  a  separate  mention  to  be  passed  down  to  the  posterity  of 
the  tirst  settlers  of  Montpelier,  with  the  sketch  of  her  husband. 

She  was  born  in  Oxford,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  174-3,  mar 
ried  about  the  year  1765,  and  died  on  the  25th  of  February, 
1828.  She  lies  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband,  in  this  village, 
where  she  peacefully  passed  tb?,  last  as  well  as  the  middle  por 
tion  of  her  useful  and  exemplary  life.  She  early  united  with 
the  Congregational  Church  after  it  was  established  in  this  vil 
lage,  and  had  long  been  considered  a  Christian  in  works,  as  well 
as  faith,  which  would  have  well  warranted  an  earlier  public  pro 
fession  of  religion.  Unusually  comely  in  person,  with  a  sweet 
smile  ever  on  her  lips,  kind  in  disposition,  intelligent  and  dis 
creet,  she  was  the  never  failing  friend  of  the  needy  and  dis 
tressed,  the  judicious  adviser  of  the  young,  and  the  universal 
object  of  the  love  and  respect  of  all  classes  of  the  people  of  the 
settlement.  Of  the  more  than  half  score  of  her  coteuiporaries 
in  this  town  of  whom  we  have  made  enquiries  respecting  her 
character,  all  most  cordially  united  in  affirming,  in  substance, 
what  we  will  only  quote  as  the  warmly  expressed  words  of  one 
<>f  them :  "  Mrs.  Colonel  Davis  was  <>ne  of  the  best.,  the  rcry 
best,  women  in  the  whole  world!"  Indeed  she  must  have  truly 
been  a  mother  in  the  early  Montpelier  Israel,  and  she  has  left 
behind  her  a  name  bright  with  blessed  memories. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  17 


THE  HONORABLE  DAVID  W1NO,  JUNIOR, 

DAVID  WING,  Junior,  \\-as  horn  in  Rochester,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  24th  of  June,  1706,  removed  with  his  father  and  family 
to  Montpelier  in  about  the  year  1700,  and  settled  down  with 
them  on  a  farm  adjoining  what  is  now  known  as  the  old  Clark 
Stevens  place,  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  He  had  doubtless 
received  a  rather  superior  common  school  education,  though  the 
educational  accomplishments,  which  he  almost  at  once  exhibited 
after  coming  into  the  settlement,  were  probably  mainly  the  fruits 
of  his  native  taste  and  scholarship,  which  is  strikingly  conspicu 
ous  in  all  the  memorials,  social  or  civil,  that  he  has  left  behind 
him.  He  taught  the  second  school  of  the  town,  which  was  opened, 
it  is  believed,  in  the  same  year  in  which  he  became  one  of  its  in 
habitants.  Within  about  two  years  after  his  arrival  he  wa^ 
elected  Town  Clerk.  And  during  the  next  dozen  years,  the  of 
fices  of  Town  Agent,  Town  Representative,  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  and  Secretary  of  State,  seem  to  have  been  crowded  upon 
him  in  regular  and  rapid  succession.  As  an  evidence  of  his 
great  populaiity  among  his  townsmen,  the  fact  may  be  cited  that 
\vhile  he  was  holding  the  office  of  side  Judge,  and  Chief  Judge 
of  the  County  Court — ten  fold  the  best  office  held  by  any  other 
inhabitart  of  the  town — he  was  elected  the  Town  Representa 
tive  four  years  previous  to  his  election  as  Secretary  of  State  ; 
and  not  content  with  that,  for  the  several  years  during  that  time, 
they  threw  their  entire  vote  for  him  as  State  Treasurer.  Con 
sidering  the  jealousies  usually  existing  among  the  numbers  found 
hi  every  town  who  believe  themselves  qualified  for  office,  and 


170  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

who  generally  raise  a  clamor  against  bestowing  an  office  on  ti 
man  who  is  already  holding  another  good  office,  perhaps  nothing 
could  be  adduced,  which  shows  so  strongly  as  this  fact,  the  un 
bounded  respect  and  personal  regard  in  which  David  "Wing  was 
universally  held  by  his  almost  idolizing  townsmen. 

In  1792  he  married  Miss  Hannah  Davis,  the  second  daughter 
of  Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  and  a  young  lady  of  many  personal  at 
tractions,  and  of  much  moral  excellence.  From  this  marriage 
sprang  eight  children,  whose  names  we  give  to  show  the  classical 
tastes  of  the  father,  and  the  estimation  in  which  the  different 
noted  personages  of  history  were  held  by  him : — Debby  Daph 
ne,  Christopher  Columbus,  Algernon  Sidney,  Marcus  Tullius 
Cicero,  Maria  Theresa,  David  Davis,  Caroline  Augusta  and  Max- 
inius  Fabius.  The  two  first  named  of  these  daughters  died  in 
infancy  ;  and  the  remaining  Jive  children  arrived  at  maturity  and 
took  highly  respectable  positions  in  society,  though  only  one  of 
them  appears  to  have  fully  inherited  the  tastes  and  native  schol 
arship  of  their  father — the  Rev.  Marcus  T.  C.  Wing,  a  Professor 
in  Kenyon  College,  Ohio. 

As  in  the  case  of  Colonel  Davis,  the  most  prominent  acts  and 
traits  of  character  of  David  Wing  have  already  been  brought  too 
fully  to  light  in  the  first  part  of  this  history  of  the  town  to  need 
here  any  repetition ;  and  we  will  draw  this  sketch  to  a  close 
with  a  few  personal  observations. 

In  person  Judge  Wing  was  of  medium  height,  of  a  good  form, 
fine  head,  shapely  features  and  an  animated  countenance,  all 
made  the  more  attractive  and  winning  by  the  dignified  affiahility 
of  his  manners.  As  an  instance  of  the  quickness  of  his  percep 
tions,  his  ready  business  capacities  and  the  versatile  character  of 
his  talents,  several  of  his  yet  surviving  cotemporories  have  named 
to  us  the  fact,  of  which  they  were  frequently  cognizant,  that  he 
would  correctly  and  rapidly  draw  up  any  kind  of  document,  re 
port,  despatch  or  legal  instrument  in  writing,  and  at  the  same 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  ITT 

time  maintain   a  connected   and   lively  conversation  with  those 
around  him. 

He  was  elected  Secretary  of  State  in  the  fall  of  180:2,  and 
while  still  holding  the  office,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness 
and  high  promise,  was  suddenly  swept  away  by  a  malignant  fever, 
on  the  18th  day  of  September,  180I.J.  And  rarely,  indeed,  has 
ever  a  death  occurred  in  this  section  of  the  State  which  produced 
so  profound  a  sensation  in  community.  His  death  was  mourned 
as  a  great  loss,  not  only  to  the  town  but  to  the  whole  State  ;  and 
the  remark  was  then  everywhere  made  that,  had  he  lived,  no 
man  within  its  limits  was  more  sure  than  he  of  soon  being  pro 
moted  |.o  the  highest  offices  within  the  gift  of  the  people. 


178  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


CLARK   STEVENS. 

Unlike  others  among  the  leading  first  settlers  of  Montpelier, 
there  was  one  who  has  occupied  scarcely  space  enough  in  its  pub 
lic  affairs  to  make  himself  known  even  to  all  his  fellow  townsmen, 
but  who,  nevertheless,  possessed  a  mind,  a  heart  and  a  general 
character,  of  which  the  best  of  them  might  well  be  proud,  and 
whose  examples  of  moral  purity,  wisdom  and  goodness,  deserve 
to  be  forever  remembered  and  cherished.  That  man  was  CLAKK 
STEVENS,  a  member  and  leader  in  the  Society  of  Friends. 

CLARK  STEVENS  was  born  in  Rochester,  Massachusetts,  on  the 
loth  of  November,  17G4.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  dratted 
as  a  soldier,  and  served  in  that  capacity  several  months  during 
one  of  the  last  years  of  the  American  Revolution.  After  leav 
ing  the  army,  he  engaged  himself  as  a  seaman  at  the  neighboring- 
port  of  New  Bedford,  and  spent  several  years  in  the  ventures  of 
the  ocean.  But  the  perils  he  had  here  encountered  in  the  whal 
ing  and  coasting  trade,  not  only  revived  the  religious  impressions 
formerly  experienced,  but  led  him  to  resolve  on  the  quiet  pursuits 
of  husbandry,  and  to  remove,  with  that  object  in  view,  to  the  new 
town  of  Montpelier  in  Vermont.  Accordingly  he  immigrated 
into  this  town  in  1790,  in  company  with  David  Wing,  the  elder, 
and  his  sons,  purchased  and  at  once  began  to  clear  up  the  val 
uable  farm  near  Montpelier  East  Village,  which  has  ever  since 
been  the  family  homestead.  After  effecting  a  considerable  open 
ing  in  the  wilderness,  and  building  the  customary  log  house  and 
barn,  he  returned  to  the  land  of  his  fathers,  and,  on  the  30th  of 
December,,  1793,  married  Miss  Huldah  Foster  of  his  native 
Rochester,  brought  her  immediately  on  and  installed  her  as  the 
mistress  of  his  heart  and  household. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  179 

80011  after  his  marriage,  Mr.  Stevens  appears  to  have  been 
more  deeply  than  ever* exercised  with  his  religious  convictions  ; 
when  soon,  by  the  aid  of  some  neighbors  who,  like  himself,  had 
previously  united  themselves  with  the  Society  of  Friends  or 
Quakers,  he  built  a  log  meeting  house  on  the  bank  of  a  little 
brook  a  short  distance  to  the  north-west  of  his  dwelling.  And 
here,  under  his  lead,  that  little  band  of  congenial  worshipers  es 
tablished  in  the  Avilderness  the  first  altar  for  the  worship  of  the 
living  God  ever  erected  in  Washington  County.  Subsequently 
this  band  was  received  into  membership  with  the  New  York  So 
ciety  of  Friends,  who  held  monthly  meetings  in  Danby,  in  the 
south-western  part  of  Vermont,  which  meetings  were  eventually 
established  at  Starksboro',  in  this  State.  Of  the  latter  he  be 
came  a  regular  monthly  attendant,  and  in  1815,  having,  besides 
being  the  leader  and  teacher  of  his  Society  at  home,  travelled, 
each  year,  hundreds  of  miles  to  attend  monthly,  quarterly  and 
yearly  meetings  in  Vermont,  New  York,  and  in  the  different 
States  of  New  England,  and  everywhere  evinced  his  faithfulness 
sis  a  laborer,  and  Ms  ability  as  a  religious  speaker  and  teacher, 
he  was  publicly  acknowledged  by  the  Starksboro'  Association  as 
;i  regular  annd  accepted  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  Years  before 
this,  through  his  instrumentality,  and  that  of  his  worthy  and 
perhaps  most  energetic  fellow-laborer  in  the  cause,  the  late  Caleb 
Bennett,  his  Society  at  home  had  been  considerably  enlarged, 
and  a  commodious  meeting  house  erected  a  half  mile  or  more 
distant  from  the  first  primitive  one  above  mentioned. 

But  if  CLARK  STEVENS  was  a  man  of  the  intelligence  and  vir 
tue  which  caused  him  to  be  placed  in  such  a  prominent  position 
in  his  religious  connections,  why  was  he  not,  as  well  as  other  cit- 
i/cns  of  his  town  of  the  same  grade  of  capacity,  promoted  to 
posts  of  civil  trusts,  or  other  worldly  honors  ':  It  was  because, 
after  having  been  made  the  second  Town  Clerk  of  the  town,  and 
reluctantly  consented  to  serve  in  that  capacity  one  year— it  was 


180  HISTORY    OF   MONTPKLlKil. 

simply  because  he  ever  uniformly  declined  to  accept  them.  Time 
and  again  would  the  town  gladly  have  made  him  their  Represen 
tative  in  the  Legislature.  But  all  movements  of  that  kind  were 
by  him  promptly  discouraged  and  stopped  at  the  outset.  On  the 
organization  of  the  new  County  of  Jefterson,  in  such  high  esteem 
were  his  worth  and  abilities  held  by  the  leading  men  of  the 
County  at  large  that,  on  their  united  recommendation,  he  was. 
without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  appointed  by  the  Legislature 
to  the  more  important  and  tempting  office  of  a  Judge  of  the 
Court.  But  this  he  also  promptly  declined,  and  gave  the  public 
to  understand  that  civil  honors  had  so  few  charms  for  him  that 
it  would  thereafter  be  in  vain  for  them  ever  to  offer  them  for  his 
acceptance. 

Thus,  "  he  had  wrought  out  his  work,  and  wrought  it  well." 
Thus  he  lived,  and  thus,  at  the  ripe  age  of  nearly  ninety,  he 
peacefully  passed  away,  at  his  old  residence,  on  the  20th  of 
December,  1853,  with  the  characteristic  words  on  his  lips  :— 
••  I  have  endeavored  to  do  what  I  apprehended  was  required  of 
me.  I  have  naught  but  feelings  of  love  for  all  mankind  ;  and 
my  hope  of  salvation  is  based  on  the  mercy  of  God  through  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ/' 

Personally,  CLARK  STEVENS  was  one  of  the  finest  looking 
men  of  his  times.  Full  six  feet  high,  and  nobly  proportioned, 
with  a  shapely  contour  of  head  and  features,  dark  eyes  and  a  se 
date,  thoughtful  countenance.,  his  presence  was  unusually  impos 
ing  and  dignified.  He  was  a  prince  in  appearance,  but  a  child 
in  humility.  He  was  unquestionably  a  man  of  superior  intellect, 
and  that  intellect  was,  in  all  its  traits,  peculiarly  well  balanced. 
But  it  was  his  great  and  good  heart  which  shown  out  the  most 
conspicuously  through  all  the  actions  of  his  long  and  beneficent 
life.  In  fine,  CLARK  STEVENS,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  term, 
was  a  great  man  ;  for 

(<  The  £oorl  are  great,  the  great  not  always  good." 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH K-S.  181 


ELDER  ZIBA  WOOD  WORTH. 

'/ABA  WOODWOETH,  a  man  whose  character  was  marked  by 
so  many  peculiar  qualities,  and  whose  life  was  checkered  by  so 
many  peculiar  events  as  to  have  caused  him  to  have  occupied  a 
sufficient  space  in  the  public  mind  during  the  early  settlement  of 
Montpelier,  to  deserve  a  place  among  our  individual  sketches, 
was  born  in  April  1769,  in  the  town  of  Bozrah,  situated  about  a 
dozen  miles  northerly  of  New  London  and  Groton,  Connecticut. 
He  was  a  connection  of  the  gallant  Colonel  Ledyard,  who  marri 
ed  his  aunt,  and  who  afterwards  won  immortality  by  his  mar 
tyrdom  at  Fort  Griswold  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  It 
might  have  been,  perhaps,  through  some  of  the  influences  grow 
ing  out  of  this  honorable  connection,  which  induced  Ziba,  Avith 
his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and  Asahel  Woodworth, — all  young 
men,  and  Ziba  the  younger, but  seventeen, — to  become  soldiers  in 
Col.  Ledyard's  regiment.  At  any  rate  they  all  did  so ;  and 
when  that  revengeful  and  conscience-chafed  devil  incarnate,  Ben 
edict  Arnold,  led  the  British  against  New  London,  and  utterly 
desolated  it  with  fire  and  sword,  Ziba  and  his  brother  Asahel, 
were,  with  their  brave  uncle  in  command,  in  Fort  Griswold,  on 
the  Groton  side  of  the  Thames,  Joseph  being  with  another  de 
tachment  some  miles  distant,  but  hastening  on  to  the  rescue. 
While  the  infamous  Arnold  was  devastating  New  London,  he 
sent  out  a  detachment  of  several  hundred  British  troops  under 
Colonel  Eyre,  to  carry  Fort  Griswold.  The  resistance  of  Colo 
nel  Ledyard  was  gallant  but  unavailing.  Part  of  the  works  were 
dilapidated,  and  the  British,  after  being  kept  at  bay  about  an 
hour,  and  suffering  the  temporary  loss  of  their  Colonel,  who  was 


182  HISTORY   OF    MONTPEL1EK. 

badly  wounded,  and  the  unqualified  loss  of  their  second  in  com 
mand,  Major  Montgomery,  who,  with  many  of  the  soldiers,  was 
killed,  poured  into  the  Fort,  in  overwhelming  numbers,  under 
the  lead  of  the  third  officer  in  rank,  the  vindictive  and  brutal 
Major  Broornfield.  Colonel  Ledyard  now  at  once  surrendered  the 
Fort,  and,  as  every  child  in  America  has  heard,  while  present 
ing  his  sword,  hilt  first,  to  the  British  commander,  was  murder 
ously  run  through  the  body  by  his  own  weapon.  Thereupon  the 
British  commenced  an  indiscriminate  butchery  of  the  Americans 
by  the  rapid  volleys  of  their  musketry  and  the  busy  use  of  their 
bayonets.  Among  the  first  discharges,  Ziba  and  his  brother 
Asahel  were  prostrated, — the  former  by  a  bullet,  shattering  the 
bones  of  his  knee,  and  the  latter  by  some  head  wound,  which 
rendered  him  insensible.  But  they  had  not  yet  done  enough 
for  the  already  desperately  wounded  /iba.  One  of  them  made 
a  heavy  lunge  with  a  bayonet  into  his  bowels,  the  wound,  how 
ever,  owing  to  the  strength  and  thickness  of  the  new  tow  shirt 
lie  had  on,  not  proving  mortal.  Another  struck  him  with  the 
butt  of  a  musket  on  the  head,  and,  for  the  time,  stretched  him 
senseless  on  the  ground.  The  massacre  was  intended  to  be  uni 
versal,  but  it  was  not  wholly  unavenged.  On  the  instant  of  the 
fall  of  Colonel  Ledyard,  two  of  his  exasperated  followers  rushed 
from  opposite  sides  upon  his  murderer,  and  instantly  impaling 
him  through  the  body  with  their  pikes  or  strong  spontoons, 
lifted  him  writhing  on  their  points,  and  threw  him  over  the  pick 
ets  to  die  the  death  he  so  well  merited.*  After  all  were  slain, 
or  supposed  to  have  received  their  death  wounds,  the  British,  in 
their  wanton  ferocity,  dragged  out  a  do/en  or  so  of  those  who 
exhibited  the  most  signs  of  life,  piled  them  into  a  detached  cart, 
and  sent  it  rolling  down  a  steep  bank  till  it  struck  a  large  apple 
tree,  by  which  it  was  stove  to  pieces  in  the  shock,  and  made  a 

*As  the  above  account  which  was  had  from  the  lips  of  Uncle  Ziba  in  his  life  time 
appears  to  violate  history,  it  will  be  contended  by  some  that  he  mistook  some  other 
British  officer  there  slain  for  the  murderer  of  Ledyard. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  188 

sudden  end  of  its  groaning  victims.  Most  of  these  personal  par 
ticulars  were  had  from  the  lips  of  Ziba  Woodworth  himself,  who 
\vitnessed  them  before  or  after  his  fall.  And  they  are  all  con 
firmed  in  history  except  what  relates  to  the  just  fate  of  the  sav 
age  Major  Broomfield.  And  even  that  is  not  left  wholly  unau- 
thcnticated  :  for  the  British  return  of  the  slain  included  two 
field  officers ;  and  as  Colonel  Eyre  was  reported  only  as  wound 
ed,  Broomneld  must  have  been  one  of  them.  But  the  fact  of  the 
manner  of  his  death  rests,  we  believe,  wholly  on  the  testimony 
of  the  two  Wood  worths,  who  were  present.  In  the  name  of 
Heaven's  justice,  we  hope  it  is  true. 

After  a  long  and  distressing  sickness,  Ziba  Woodworth  recov 
ered,  except  in  the  use  of  his  knee,  and,  in  a  few  years,  came 
with  his  two  brothers,  and  perhaps  other  members  of  his  family, 
to  settle  in  Montpelier.  His  first  pitch  was  made  on  the  lot 
lying  about  a  mile  east  of  the  village,  which  he  soon  sold  to 
.lames  Hawkins,  and  purchased  another  on  the  Branch,  about  a 
mile  arid  a  half  above  the  village,  where  he  continued  ever  after 
to  reside,  till  the  occurrence  of  his  death  by  some  acute  disease, 
on  the  27th  of  November,  1826. 

He  married  and  lived  some  years  with  his  wife  in  Connecticut, 
but  on  account  of  some  domestic  trouble,  they  were  divorced; 
and  soon  after  coming  here,  he  married  for  a  second  wife,  Miss 
Lucy  Palmer  from  Canaan,  N.  H.,  and  had  by  her  five  children, 
all^of  whom,  but  their  son  John,  who  is  still  living,  died  in  child 
hood. 

/iba  Woodworth  came  into  Montpelier  about  1790,  was  pre 
sent  at  its  organization  and  became  its  first  Town  Clerk.  He 
probably  experienced  religion  in  Connecticut ;  for  ever  after 
coming  here,  he  was  accounted  a  religious  man  of  the  Free  Will 
Baptist  persuasion.  In  about  1800,  he  began  to  exhort  in  pub- 
lie  meetings;  and,  in  January  1806,  he  was  licensed  and  or 
dained  at  a  Quarterly  Meeting  of  Freewill  Baptists  held  at  Dan- 


184  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

ville,  Vt.,  to  go  forth  to  preach  the  gospel  and  administer  all  its 
ordinances.  He  did  not,  however,  preach  statedly  anywhere, 
but  mostly  confining  himself  to  his  farm,  divided  his  spare  time 
between  politics  and  religion,  and  became  as  ardent  a  parti  /an 
as  he  was  a  Christian. 

Elder  Woodworth  was  a  man  of  a  small  stature,  limping  in 
irate,  but  of  a  wonderfully  animated  manner  and  conversation. 
His  heart  seemed  ever  absolutely  overflowing  with  the  gushing 
feelings  of  his  love  and  benevolence.  As  an  instance  of  hi« 
kind  and  sympathetic  nature,  may  be  cited  the  fact,  that  on 
learning  that  a  poor  man  from  his  neighborhood,  who  had  moved 
to  Ohio,  had  fallen  sick  and  died  there,  leaving  two  or  three  un 
protected  children,  he  left  his  business,  journeyed  all  the  way  to 
Ohio,  at  his  own  expense,  in  a  single  wagon,  and  brought  all  the 
children  home  with  him.  And  still  uncle  Ziba  had  enough  faults 
to  mingle  with  his  virtues,  to  make  him  sometime  the  subject  of 
curious  or  doubtful  remarks  among  the  less  charitable  of  commu 
nity.  He  was  quite  energetic  in  all  he  did  or  said,  and  the  ar 
dor  of  his  temperament  often  led  him  into  some  extravagance  of 
speech  or  action.  But,  take  him  all  in  all,  he  was  a  man  of  the 
kindest  of  impulses,  a  hearty  friend,  a  charitable  opponent,  a 
good  neighbor  and  a  good  citi/en. 


KIOfipAPHTCAL  SKETCH  EH.  1  So 


.JOHN  TAPLJN,  ESQUIRE. 

Although  the  subject  of  the  following  sketch  was,  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  settlement  of  Montpelier,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards,  a  resident  within  the  borders  of  the  adjoining  town 
of  Berlin,  yet,  as  he  was  ever  closely  connected  with  our  first 
settlers,  both  in  their  private  relations  and  public  affairs,  was  the 
first  officiating  magistrate  of  the  place,  was  associated  in  that 
capacity  with  the  organization  of  the  town,  was  a  member  of 
its  first  Congregational  Church,  and  one  of  its  citizens  during 
the  last  years  of  his  life,  it  has  been  deemed  proper,  in  view  of 
the  public  positions  he  occupied,  and  the  worthiness  of  his  gen 
eral  character,  to  place  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life  among  those  of 
our  prominent  first  settlers. 

JOHN  TAPLIN,  who,  though  by  common  usage  he  was  entitled 
to  the  military  appellation  of  Major  and  the  civil  one  of  Honor 
able,  was  yet  generally  known  by  the  more  unpretending  desig 
nation  of  Esquire  Taplin,  was  born  in  Marlborough,  Massachu 
setts,  in  the  year  1748.  In  about  1764  he  removed  with  his 
father,  Colonel  John  Taplin.  to  Newbury,  Vermont,  and  soon 
after  to  Corinth,  of  which  town  his  father  was  one  of  the  origi 
nal  proprietors.  His  father,  who  was  one  of  the  most  noted  men 
of  his  times,  had  been  a  Colonel  in  the  British  American  Army, 
under  General  Amherst,  and  actively  engaged  with  Rogers,  Put 
nam,  Stark,  and  other  distinguished  American  officers,  in  reduc 
ing  the  fortresses  of  the  French  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  fighting 
their  red  allies,  then  prowling  through  the  entire  wilderness 
territory  of  Vermont.  And  young  Taplin,  after  receiving  a  fair 

•24 


186  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

common   school  education  for  his  years,  was,  from  the   age  of 
twelve  to  iifteen  years,  out  with  his  father  in  this  French  and  In 
dian  war,  being  generally  stationed  at  Crown  Point  and  Tieon 
deroga. 

Soon  after  his  removal  to  Vermont,  Colonel  Taplin  was  ap 
pointed,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York,  Chief  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  what  was  then  called  Gloucester  County,  but  after 
wards  became  Orange  County  ;  and  young  Taplin,  then  designat 
ed  as  John  Taplin,  Junior,  was,  though  then  but  barely  twenty- 
one  years  of  age,  appointed  High  Sheriff  of  the  same  Court  and 
County.  Kingsland,  now  Washington,  was  at  first  fixed  upon  as 
the  shire  town  of  this  new  County,  and  the  new  Court  was  once 
actually  opened  there,  though  the  town  was  then  wholly  an  un 
broken  wilderness.  We  have  already,  while  treating  of  the  New 
York  grants  in  this  section,  alluded  to  the  singular  opening  of  a 
Court  in  the  woods  of  this  place ;  but  as  the  record  of  this  cu 
rious  transaction,  which  has  but  recently  come  to  light,  cannot 
fail  to  be  regarded  as  an  interesting  antiquarian  document,  we 
will  venture  to  copy  it  entire,  verbatim  et  literatim  : 

"  KINGSLAND,  GLOUCESTER  COUNTY',          / 
Province  of  New  York,  May  29, 1770.  f 

u  Court  met  for  the  first  time,  and  the  ordinance  and  comi- 
tions  Being  Read 

JOHN  TAPLIN        i    Judges  being  appointed 
SAMUEL  SLEEPER  J  by  the  Government  of 
THOMAS  SUMNER  )  New  York 

were  present,  and  the  Courts  opened  as  is  usual  in  other 
Courts—  Also  present 

JAMES  PENNOCK  J 

ABNER  FOWLER    >  Justices  of  the  Quorum 
JOHN  PETERS      ) 
JOHN  TAPLIN,  Jr.,  Sheriff. 
UN.  B.  these  Courts  were 
the  Courts  of  Quarterly  ses 
sions  and  the  Court  of  Com 
mon  Plea  for  Said  County. 

"'  Court  adjourned  to  the  last  Tuesday  in  August  next  to  be 
held  in  said  Kingrsland, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  1ST 

44  Opened  accordingly,  and  appointed  four  Constables,  Simeon 
Stevens  for  Newbury,  Jesseo  McFaiiand  for  Moretown,  Abner 
Howard  for  Thetford,  and  Samuel  Pennock  for  Stafford,  and 
adjourned  to  the  last  Tuesday  of  Nov. 

u  Nov.  27,  Court  opened  at  Kingslaud.  Called  over  the  dock 
et  of  8  cases  only,  put  over  and  dismissed  them,  and  appointed 
Ebenezer  Green  Constable  for  Thetford,  and  Samuel  Pennock, 
Ebenezer  Martin  &  Ebenezer  Green  and  Samuel  Allen  Surveyors 
for  the  County,  and  adjourned  to  February  next  last  Tuesday. 

u  Feb.  25  /  Sett  out  from  Moretown  for  Kings  Land,  trav- 
1771  j  elled  untill  Knight  there  Being  no  Road,  and  the 
SLIOW  very  depe,  we  travelled  on  Snow  Shoes  or  Racats,  on  the 
26th  we  travelled  Some  ways,  and  Held  a  Council  when  it  was 
concluded  it  was  Best  to  open  the  Court  as  we  Saw  No  Line  it 
was  not  whether  in  Kingsland  or  not.  But  we  concluded  we 
were  fan*  in  the  woods  we  did  not  expect  to  See  any  House  un 
less  we  marched  three  miles  within  Kingsland  and  no  one  lived 
there  when  the  Court  was  ordered  to  be  opened  on  the  spot, 
present 

JOHN  TAPLIN,  Judge 
JOHN  PETERS  of  the  Quorum 
JOHN  TAPLIN  Jr.,  Sheriff. 

all  Causes  Continued  or  adjourned  over  to  Next  term 
the  Court,  if  one,  adjourned  over  untill  the  last  Tuesday  in  May 
Next  at  which  it  was  opened  and  after  disposing  of  one  case  of 
bastardy,  adjourned  to  August  next. 

"JOHN  PETERS  Clerk." 

Thus  ends  this  curious  specimen  of  judicial  records.  It  will 
be  seen  by  it  that  at  the  first  Court  nothing  is  hinted  about  the 
Court  being  held  in  the  woods  and  snows.  It  was  probably  held 
at  the  nearest  house  in  Corinth,  and,  by  a  judicial  fiction,  treated 
as  a  Court  at  Kingsland.  But  it  docs  not  appear  that  the  Court 
was  ever  called  at  Kingsland  after  the  so  called  August  Term, 
1771,  having  the  next  term  met  at  Newbury,  where  it  continued 
to  hold  sessions  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution.  The 
Court  did  not,  however,  give  up  the  idea  of  making  Kingsland 
the  Scat  of  Justice,  for  thoy  ordered  their  young  Sheriff,  John 
Taplin,  Jr.,  to  build  a  log  jail  there,  which  order  he  promptly 
executed,  and  made  return  to  the  Court  accordingly,  though  it 
is  believed  that  the  jail,  as  such,  was  never  occupied.  This  sin- 


188  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIKR. 

gularly  originated  log  jail  was  situated  a  mile  or  two  south-east 
of  the  present  village  of  Washington,  near  the  sources  of  the 
brook  which,  running  northerly  into  Stevens  Branch,  thencefor 
ward  took  the  name  of  Jail  Brand  i. 

On  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  Colonel  Taplin,  declining 
to  take  sides  against  the  King  who  had  distinguished  him.  re 
tired  during  the  war  into  Canada,  leaving  our  John  Taplin,  Jr., 
on  the  paternal  property  in  Corinth,  where  he  resided  until  many 
years  after  Vermont  had  become  a  State  had  elapsed,  and 
was  so  much  esteemed  by  his  fellow-townsmen  as  to  have  received 
from  them  at  least  two  elections  as  their  Representative  in  the 
Legislature.  In  the  summer  of  178T  he  removed  to  Berlin,  hav 
ing  purchased  that  excellent  farm,  on  the  lower  part  of  Dog 
River,  since  known  as  the  Old  John  Haden  place,  and  became 
the  first  Representative  of  Berlin,  and  for  several  years  the  first 
officiating  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  all  this  vicinity. 

At  the  age  of  twenty  he  married  Miss  Catharine  Lovell, 
daughter  of  Colonel  Nehemiah  Lovell  of  Newbury,  who  was 
grandson  of  the  celebrated  hero  of  the  Lovell  Pond  Indian  bat 
tle.  And  this  wife  dying  in  1794,  he  married,  for  a  second  one, 
the  following  year,  Miss  Lydia  Gove  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp 
shire.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  twelve  children,  and  by  his  last 
nine,  making  twenty-one  in  the  whole ;  and  what  is  still  more  re 
markable,  they  all  except  one  which  was  accidentally  scalded  to 
death  in  infancy,  lived  to  reach  years  of  maturity,  marry  and 
settle  down  in  life  as  the  heads  of  families — thus  furnishing  an 
instance  of  family  fruitfulnes  and  health  which,  perhaps,  never 
had  a  parallel  in  the  whole  State  of  Vermont. 

Mr.  Taplin's  practical  knowledge  of  men  and  the  ordinary  af 
fairs  of  life  was,  from  his  varied  opportunities  for  observation, 
quite  extensive  ;  and  his  natural  intellectual  capacities  were,  at 
least,  of  a  highly  respectable  order.  But  probably  Avhat  are 
called  the  sentiments,  or  moral  affections,  should  be  considered 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  189 

a:,  constituting  the  predominant  traits  of  his  character.  At  all 
events,  kindness  to  all,  and  active  benevolence  and  charity  to  the 
poor  and  distressed,  \verc  very  conspicuous  elements  of  his  na 
ture  ;  and  his  house  and  his  hands  were  ever  alike  open  to  re 
lieve  the  wants  of  those  who  might  solicit  his  hospitalities,  or 
mure  substantial  assistance.  And,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  the 
sharp  and  selfish  world  failed  not  to  take  advantage  of  these 
over  amiable  traits  of  character.  The  free  horse  was  at  length 
almost  ridden  to  deatli ;  and  in  consequence,  at  the  age  of  fifty, 
lie  found  himself  badly  involved  in  pecuniary  embarrassments, 
growing  out  of  his  general  system  of  benevolence  in  a  good  de 
gree,  but  mainly  out  of  his  acts  of  accommodation  in  becoming 
bondsman  for  others.  These  so  sadly  reduced  his  property  as  to 
compel  him  to  part  with  his  valuable  old  homestead  for  a  less 
costly  one,  which,  from  growing  infirmities,  he  was  also  at  length 
induced  to  abandon  for  a  residence  with  one  of  his  sons  in  this 
village.  But  although  the  last  years  of  his  life  were  thus  cloud 
ed  and  embittered,  he  was,  to  the  last,  yet  held  in  the  estimation 
of  all  as  one  of  the  most  amiable  and  best  of  men  and  Christians, 
and  as  one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  useful  of  citizens. 

lie  died  in  Montpelier,  in  the  month  of  November,  1885,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years  ;  and  his  memory  is  still 
warmly  cherished,  not  only  by  his  numerous  descendants,  but  by 
all  who  remember  his  tall,  comely  person,  the  mild  dignity  of 
his  deportment,  and  the  never  varying  amenity  of  his  manners 
towards  all  classes  of  people. 


190  HISTORY  OF   MONTPELIEE. 


DOCTOR  EDWARD  LAMB. 

Di\  EDWARD  LAMB  was  born  in  Leicester,  Massachusetts,  in  the 
year  1771.  His  father  being  a  mechanic,  and  not  in  such  cir 
cumstances  as  would  warrant  him  in  sending  his  son  abroad  for 
the  advantages  of  a  full  public  education,  put  him,  as  he  began 
lo  advance  towards  manhood,  into  the  Academy,  which  was 
growing  up  in  that  town,  and  in  which  the  classics  were  then 
beginning  to  be  taught.  After  attending  this  institution  a  few 
years,  and  adding  a  respectable  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek 
to  his  acquirements  in  the  English  branches,  young  Lamb  entered 
himself  as  a  medical  student  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Fisk,  in  the 
neighboring  town  of  Sturbridgc,  now  Southbridge.  Here  ho 
remained  till  lie  had  acquired  his  profession,  continuing  his  con 
nection  with  Dr.  Fisk's  office  until  he  had  attended  a  course  of 
medical  lectures  in  Boston  and  Cambridge,  when,  at  the  age  of 
about  twenty-four,  he  removed  to  Montpelier,  where  his  elder 
brother,  Colonel  Larned  Lamb,  had  some  years  preceded  him, 
and  settled  down  in  his  profession  for  life. 

In  1799  he  was  chosen  First  Constable  and  Collector  of  the 
town,  and  retained  in  the  office  for  the  two  following  years. 

In  1803  he  married  Miss  Polly  Withcrell  of  Montpelier,  who 
died  in  1822,  leaving  no  issue.  In  1804  he  was  elected  the  town 
representative  in  the  Legislature,  and  again  elected  to  that  office 
in  the  years  1814  and  1815,  and  thus  made  in  all,  three  years  the 
representative  of  Montpelier.  And  what  should  be  esteemed  a 
*till  greater  honor,  he  was  one  of  the  Presidential  electors  when 
Gen.  Harrison  was  run  in  1836. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  191 

Although  he  was  not  much  of  a  public  speaker,  yet  that  he 
acquitted  himself  well  in  his  public  stations  was  generally  ac 
knowledged,  as  it  certainly  might  bo  safely  inferred  from  his 
rare  good  sense,  general  knowledge  and  unusually  extensive 
practical  information.  He  was  a  man  of  wonderful  memory  and 
he  had  stored  it  with  a  vast  fund  of  all  sorts  of  knowledge  and 
learning. 

Such  were  the  principal  events,  public  and  private,  which 
marked  the  life  of  Dr.  Lamb  ;  and  we  know  of  but  two  public 
performances  of  his,  not  connected  with  the  above  named  offices 
— one  the  delivery  of  an  original  oration  at  the  first  celebration 
of  the  fourth  of  July  ever  held  in  Montpelier,  in  1806,  the  other 
his  valuable  address  on  the  "  Science  of  Medicine^  delivered 
before  the  Vermont  Medical  Society  some  iifteen  years  after 
wards. 

Hut  it  was  in  his  profession  that  Dr.  Lamb  was  best  known  to 
the  public,  and  in  that  he  was  known  more  favorably  and  more 
extensively  than  generally  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  local  physician. 
His  opinions  among  his  professional  brethren,  in  this  section  of 
the  State,  were  widely  sought  and  as  widely  respected.  In  a 
knowledge  of  the  technicalities,  or  the  true  signification  of  the 
terms  of  medical  science,  he  scarcely  had  a  superior  anywhere. 
In  all  the  ordinary  diseases,  his  skill  was  equal  to  that  of  other 
good  physicians — in  fevers  it  was  so  obviously  preeminent  as  to 
place  him  with  the  very  ablest  practitioners  of  Vermont.  The 
high  estimation  in  which  his  knowledge  and  skill  were  held,  in 
this  respect,  by  his  professional  brethren,  is  sufficiently  attested 
in  the  significant  fact,  that  during  the  general  and  fatal  preva 
lence  of  malignant  fevers  in  1813  and  1.814,  he  had  at  one  time, 
daring  that  period,  no  less  than  fourteen  sick  physicians  under 
his  immediate  care  in  this  part  of  the  State. 

During  the  run  of  that  fearful  epidemic,  the  spotted  fever,  in 
this  village  and  its  outskirts,  Dr.  Lamb  had  the  principal  care 


HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

ol'  seventy  eases,  and  lost  but  three  out  of  the  whole  number. 
His  practice,  indeed,  in  his  own  town,  was,  through  all  the  ac 
tive  period  of  his  life,  which  should  be  set  down  at  at  least  forty 
years,  as  full  as  it  was  successful ;  while  for  difficult  cases,  and 
for  consultations,  his  attendance  was  constantly  sought  in  all  the 
surrounding  country. 

So  much  for  Dr.  Lamb  as  a  physician.     As  a  man  he  had  some 
unfortunate  deficiences  of  character;  but,  what  can  be  said  of 
few  others,  those  deficiences  hurt  nobody  but  himself,  and  affect 
ed  no  interest  unfavorably  but  his  own.     In  all  his  own  pecunia 
ry  affairs,  he  was  singularly  careless  and  remiss.     More  than  half 
the  time,  it  is  believed,  lie  made  no  charges  for  his  services  at 
all.     He  rarely  dunned  any  man  ;  and  if  he  did,  it  was  when  lie 
happened  to  be  hard  pressed  for  money  to  keep  up  his  unusually 
plain  and  cheap  way  ol  living.     Then  often  he  would  go  to  some 
abundantly  responsible  customer,  owing   him  honestly,  perhaps, 
fifty  dollars,  ask  for  fifteen  or  twenty,  and  on  receiving  it,  hand 
back  a  receipt  in  full  of  the  whole  account.     In  fact,  he  was  one 
of  the  most  unselfish  men  in  the  world,  and  could  not  be  brought 
to  care  any  more  for  money,  except  for  supplying  his  absolute 
present  wants,  than  so  much  dirt  beneath  his  leet.      And  in  all 
his  extensive  practice  among  all  classes  of  community,  in  this 
section,  it   probably   never  once  entered  his  head  to  make  the 
least   distinction  between  the   richest   and   the  poorest,  in  the 
promptitude  and  faithfulness  of  his  attendance.      And  the  conse- 
sequence  of  all  this  was,  that  while  his  just  and  honest  earnings, 
would  have  made  him,   if  well   managed,   worth   fifty  thousand 
dollars,  he  died   worth  scarcely   one   hundredth   part  of  that 
amount. 

Thus  he  passed  his  long  and  useful  life,  in  which  he  was  eve 
rybody's  servant,  and  everybody's  friend  but  his  own  ;  and  be 
ing  at  last  seized  with  one  of  the  ten  thousand  fevers  he  had  so 
successfully  managed  in  others,  he  at  once  predicted  its  fatal 


BIOO R A PIITC AL    SK  ETC  H  ES . 

termination,  and,  in  sad  realization  of  his  but  too  correct  pre 
diction,  he,  in  a  few  days  passed  peacefully  away,  on  the  4th 
day  of  November,  1845,  at  the  age  of  about  seventy-four  years, 
universally  regretted  and  universally  respected. 

Dr.  Lamb  personally  was  of  medium  height,  rather  stocky. 
moderate  in  his  motions,  slightly  limping  in  gate  in  consequence 
of  a  fever  sore  on  one  of  his  legs  in  his  youth,  and  very  neg 
lectful  in  all  matters  of  dress  and  outward  appearance.  But  all 
these  were  at  once  forgotten,  when  wo  confronted  his  massive 
and  noble  head,  manly  features,  pleasant  blue  eye,  and  thought 
ful,  impressive  countenance.  Socially,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
kindly  and  agreeable  men,  full  of  instructive  remarks,  which 
were  generally  aptly  illustrated  by  the  fund  of  piquant  and 
amusing  anecdotes,  which,  in  the  course  of  his  various  reading 
and  experience,  he  had  treasured  in  his  remarkably  retentive 
memory,  and  which  were  always  at  his  command. 

If  ever  a  people  had  cause  to  remember  a  man — if  ever  they 
owed  a  great  and  unequivocal  debt  of  gratitude  to  any  one  man. 
the  people  of  Montpelier  and  vicinity  have  such  a  cause,  and 
rest  under  such  an  obligation  to  Dr.  Edward  Lamb.  Let  his 
descendants  never  utter  his  name  without  breathing  a  blessing 
on  his  memory. 

25 


194  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIEll. 


GENERAL    PEARLEY  DAVIS. 

AinoDg  those  wlio  came  to  Montpelier  with  its  first  settler, 
Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  or  soon  followed  him,  were  three  brothers, 
his  cousins,  Pearl ey  Davis,  Nathaniel  Davis  and  Hezekiah  Davis. 
Nathaniel  settled  on  a  fine  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present 
North  Montpelier  village,  after  some  years  opened  a  store  there, 
and  amassed  a  handsome  property,  which  was  subsequently  lost 
in  the  large  factory  he  had  erected  at  the  falls  on  Kingsbury's 
Branch,  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  residence.  Hezekiah  settled 
on  a  farm  on  East  Hill,  and  became  one  of  the  most  independent 
of  our  farmers.  Both  these  were  men  of  character  and  intelli 
gence,  and  reared  iine  families  of  children  to  sustain  the  family 
reputation,  but  were  both  of  a  retiring  disposition  and  so  little 
ambitious  to  mingle  in  public  affairs  that  their  names  do  not  fig 
ure  largely  on  the  records  of  our  to\vn  transactions.  Not  so, 
however,  with  Parley,  whose  energy,  public  spirit  arid  capacities 
for  public  business  caused  his  name  to  become  greatly  identified 
with  the  history  of  the  town,  and  have  furnished  good  reasons 
to  its  historian  for  placing  him  among  its  benefactors  and  its 
most  noted  early  settlers. 

PEARLEY  DAVIS,  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Sarah  Davis,  was 
born  in  Oxford,  (in  the  part  afterwards  becoming  Charlton,)  Mas 
sachusetts,  on  the  31st  of  March,  1766,  and,  after  receiving 
rather  an  unusually  good  English  education,  at  the  then  new 
Academy  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Leicester,  including  ti 
knowledge  of  Surveying,  he  came  into  town  with  Colonel  Davis, 
bringing  his  sot  of  Surveyor's  instruments,  and  at  once  engaging 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  195 

in  the  original  surveys  of  the  township,  first  as  an  assistant  and 
finally  as  a  principal  Surveyor  of  the  town  and  county. 

It  was  while  thus  employed,  as  he  once  told  the  writer  of  this 
sketch,  that,  coming  on  to  the  splendid  swell  of  forest  land  then 
crowning  the  elevation  at  the  center  of  the  town,  he  was  so 
struck  with  the  general  indications  of  the  soil  and  the  natural 
beauty  of  the  location,  as  seen  beneath  the  growth  of  stately 
maples,  cumbered  with  little  underbrush,  that  he  resolved  he 
would  here  make  his  pitch,  feeling  confident  that  this  must  be 
the  seat  of  town  business,  and  then  believing  even  that  it  would 
become  the  site  of  its  most  populous  village. 

The  mistake  of  General  Davis,  so  far  as  regarded  the  growing 
up  of  much  of  a  village  on  the  highlands  of  the  town,  appears 
to  have  been  quite  a  common  one  with  our  early  settlers.  Im 
pressed  at  first,  as  he  was,  with  the  inviting  appearance  of  the 
higher  parts  of  their  respective  townships,  when  contrasted  with 
the  forbidding  aspect  of  the  dark  and  tangled  valleys,  the  most 
able  and  enterprising  of  them,  for  a  general  thing,  made  their 
pitches  accordingly,  as  in  the  instances  of  the  settlements  of 
Randolph,  Danville,  and  dozens  of  other  towns  in  this  State. 
But  they  soon  found  their  anticipated  villages  slipping  down  into 
the  valleys,  to  leave  them,  in  that  respect,  high  and  dry  on  the 
hills,  with  the  most. travelled  roads  all  winding  along  the  streams. 
First,  there  must  be  mills :  then  a  place  near  to  shoe  horses; 
then  a  place  for  refreshment  of  both  man  and  horse  :  and  while 
all  this  is  going  on,  it  is  a  convenience  and  a  saving  of  time  to 
be  able  to  purchase  a  few  family  necessaries  ;  thence,  to  meet 
these  calls,  first  comes  the  blacksmith's  shop,  then  the  tavern, 
then  the  store  ;  and  you  have  the  neucleus  of  a  continually  grow 
ing  village  already  formed  ;  while  people  soon  find  out  it  is  easier 
going  round  a  hill  than  over  it,  and  build  their  roads  accordingly. 

So  far  however,  as  regarded  the  seat  of  town  business,  Gen.  Da 
vis'  predictions  were  fulfilled  ;  for  he,  having  pitched  on  a  tract 


19H  J1ISTOHY    OF    MON'iTKLIEK. 

of  three  hundred  acres  of  laud  at  the  center  and  built  a  comino 
.  dious  house,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  the  receptacle  of  all 
town  meetings  till  a  public  house  was  erected ;  and  the  latter 
was  the  place  of  such  meetings,  either  for  the  whole  town  or  his 
part  of  it,  up  to  the  day  of  his  death.  At  all  these  town  meet 
ings  he  was  always  an  active  and  influential  participator.  And 
in  looking  over  the  records  of  the  town  for  the  first  half  century 
of  its  corporate  existence,  we  can  scarcely  find  a  page  on  which 
his  name  does  not  appear  coupled  with  some  of  its  most  impor 
tant  trusts  or  offices. 

In  1794  he  was  elected  Captain  of  the  first  military  company 
ever  organized  in  town  ;  and  before  the  year  had  closed  he  was 
promoted  to  the  office  of  Major  of  the  regiment  formed  from  the 
companies  of  the  different  towns  in  this  section.  In  1798  he  was 
elected  a  Colonel  of  the  regiment :  and  in  1.799  he  was  still  fur 
ther  promoted  to  the  prominent  post  of  General.  In  1799  he 
was  also  honored  by  his  townsmen  with  a  seat  in  the  Legislature, 
and  received  from  them  two  elections  as  their  Representative  in 
the  General  Assembly. 

In  1794  General  Davis  married  Miss  Rebecca  Peabody,  daugh 
ter  of  Colonel  Stephen  Peabody  of  Amherst,  N.  H.,  the  lady  of 
whose  medical  skill  and  general  usefulness  we  have  particularly 
spoken  while  treating  of  the  incidents  and  characters  of  the 
early  settlement.  From  this  union  sprang  seven  daughters,  most 
of  whom  lived  to  connect  themselves  with  the  best  families  of 
this  or  other  towns:  and  one  of  them,  (now  deceased,)  Mrs. 
Truman  Pitkin,  whose  family  occupy  the  old  homestead,  was  the 
mother  of  Pearley  P.  Pitkin,  Esq.,  the  present  Representative  of 
East  Montpelier  ;  while  of  the  surviving,  one,  endowed  with 
high  gifts  of  poesy,  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Hon.  S.  Pitkin, 
and  another  the  wife  of  the  Hon.  Royal  Wheeler. 

General  Davis,  in  the  expanded  benevolence  of  his  mind,  ap 
peared  to  take  an  interest  in  the  welfare  of  all  his  fellow-men, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  197 

and  particularly  so  of  the  young,  for  whoso  improvement  in 
knowledge  he  labored  earnestly  and  always.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  active  and  liberal  in  establishing  a  Town  Library.  He  was 
over  anxious  to  see  our  common  schools  supplied  with  competent 
teachers  ;  and  in  subscriptions,  and  in  the  education  of  his 
daughters,  he  largely  patronized  our  Academy.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  pleasant,  animated  and  instructive  of  companions,  one 
of  the  best  of  neighbors,  and  one  of  the  most  public  spirited  and 
useful  of  citizens.  In  short,  with  his  strong,  massive  person, 
prepossessing  face,  intelligent  eye,  genial  and  hearty  manner, 
and  earnest  tone  of  conversation,  he  was  one  whom  the  world 
would  unite  in  calling  a  grand  old  fellow,  and  as  such  he  will  be 
remembered  till  the  last  of  the  generation  who  knew  him  shall 
have  followed  him  to  the  grave. 

He  died  April  14,  1848,  at  the  age  of  a  little  over  eighty-two 
years. 

His  relict,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Peabody  Davis,  died  February  5, 
1854,  aged  about  eighty-three  years  and  six  months. 


198  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEB. 


THE  REVEREND  CHESTER  WRIUHT. 

CHESTER  WRIGHT  was  born  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire. 
November  6th,  1770  ;  and  his  father  was  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  that  town,  a  fanner,  a  highly  respectable,  pious  man.  and  long 
a  Deacon  of  its  Congregational  Church.  His  mother  being  also 
a  pious  and  exemplary  woman,  these  worthy  parents  gave  their 
son,  Chester,  the  best  of  moral  and  religious  trainings.  On 
reaching  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  purchased  a  farm  and  com 
menced  the  occupation  to  which  he  had  boon  reared;  but  within 
a  few  years,  his  attention  becoming  deeply  engrossed  in  the  con 
cerns  of  experimental  religion,  he  sold  out  his  property  and  com 
menced  fitting  for  a  Collegiate  education  to  prepare  him  for 
what  he  believed  to  be  a  call  to  enter  the  higher  field  of  laboring 
for  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  men.  In  1802  he  entered  Middle- 
bury  College,  then  but  recently  established,  and  after  a  credita 
ble  College  career,  was  graduated  in  180(5,  :it  the  late  age  of 
thirty.  Soon  after  this,  he  commenced  the  usual  course  of 
theological  studies  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kurton  of  Thetlbrd,  Vt,: 
and,  having  completed  his  course,  lie  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
1808,  when  he  immediately  began  preaching  in  Montpclicr, 
where,  within  the  year,  lie  was  ordained  the  pastor  of  the  Con 
gregational  Church  and  Society  of  the  place,  and  where  he  sus 
tained  that  relation  till  his  dismissal  in  1880,  a  period  of  over 
twenty-one  years. 

Mr.  Wright  was  a  small,  spare  man,  in  person,  and  apparently 
deficient  in  physical  powers.  But  lie  was  a  person  of  active 
temperament,  of  great  moral  energy,  and  of  intrepid  bearing  in 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  199 

leading  the  way  wherever  the  finger  of  Duty  pointed.  When  a 
good  deed  was  to  be  performed  no  lions  were  ever  found  in  the 
way  to  turn  him  back  or  disturb  him.  Indeed  he  was  a  man  of 
strength,  but  his  strength  was  in  his  soul.  In  disposition,  he 
was  mild,  pleasant,  affectionate  and  most  unselfishly  benevolent. 
Re  knew  nothing,  he  cared  nothing  about  the  calculations  of  the 
worldling,  not  even  enough  to  keep  him  within  the  bounds  of  the 
ordinary  prudence  required  to  ensure  the  common  comforts  of  a 
family ;  and  if  lie  had  but  one  loaf  of  bread  in  his  house,  he 
would  any  day,  if  asked,  cut  it  in  two  and  give  one  half  to  a 
needy  neighbor. 

In  regard  to  his  grade  of  intellect,  Mr.  Wright  was  naturally 
inferior  but  to  very  few.  But  he  did  not  begin  to  cultivate  his 
mind  to  any  but  a  very  limited  extent,  till  he  had  arrived  at 
maturity,  and  then  he  was  hurried  through  a  college  at  that  time 
affording  few  advantages  over  an  ordinary  Academy  ;  and  then, 
again,  he  was  hurried  through  a  brief  course  of  exclusively  theo 
logical  studies,  to  be  put  at  once  into  the  harness  of  hard  pro 
fessional  duties  and  constant  parochial  labors.  In  fact,  he  never 
bad  any  time  for  the  patient  mental  training  so  indispensable  to 
high  intellectual  efforts  ;  and  the  only  wonder  is  that  he  rose  so 
far  above  mediocrity  as  he  did  as  a  preacher.  But  what  he  fell 
short  in  learning  and  compass  of  thought,  he  amply  made  up  in 
moral  force,  and  that  certain  pathos,  which,  when  coming  from 
the  heart  of  an  honest,  earnest  man,  tinges  all  his  thoughts  and 
experiences,  quickens  them  into  power  for  touching  our  sympa 
thies  and  then  bringing  the  willing  conviction  to  our  otherwise 
indifferent  minds.  He  had,  in  fine,  that  happy  combination  of 
qualities  that  made  him  seem  great  and  powerful  to  his  hearers, 
while  they  scarcely  knew  how  or  why  his  words  had  produced 
such  an  effect.  And  such,  indeed,  should  be  all  who  undertake 
to  point  men  the  way  to  eternal  life.  A  preacher  of  a  listless, 
unsympathizing  heart,  and  consequently  a  cold  deliverer  of  mere 


200  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELIER. 

head-work  sermons,  can  touch  nobody's  feelings — can  never 
make  a  convert,  and  should  never  be  suffered  to  enter  a  pulpit 
in  the  land. 

Mr.  Wright's  success,  as  a  preacher,  however,  is  best  attested 
l>y  the  evidence  so  unmistakably  exhibited  in  the  frequent  and 
extensive  religious  revivals  that  occurred  under  his  preaching, 
and  in  the  numerous  and  influential  church  that  grew  up  in  the 
place  under  his  efficient  ministrations  :  while  was  equally  well 
attested  the  high  respect  in  which  his  character  and  talents  were 
held  abroad  in  the  fact,  that  he  was  the  far-sought  counsellor  and 
assistant  of  all  the  ministers  and  churches  in  this  and  other  parts 
of  the  State,  and  often  their  chosen  delegate  to  the  most  impor 
tant  ecclesiastical  conventions  in  other  States. 

But  he  was  more  than  a  mere  preacher.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  active  of  our  citizens  in  striving  for  the  moral  and  intellec 
tual  elevation  of  his  people,  and  even  in  entering  zealously  into 
the  spirit  of  all  the  more  public  enterprises  which  looked  to  the 
material  advancement  of  his  village.  He  was  always  a  live 
man ;  and  when  anything  occurred  affecting  the  individual  or 
public  interests  of  the  place,  he  was  sure  to  be  about,  showing 
him  to  be  a  judicious  adviser,  or  an  able  assistant.  When  the 
first  great  fire — that  of  the  burning  of  the  Cotton  Factory- 
happened  at  Montpelier,  we  well  recollect  running  two  miles  to 
be  present,  and  that  when  we  reached  the  burning  fabric,  the 
first  man  we  noticed  .was  Mr.  Wright,  standing  on  the  reach-pole 
of  a  rear  endangered  building,  dripping  with  water,  handling 
buckets,  and,  with  the  voice  and  energy  of  a  young  lion,  giving 
orders  to  the  crowd  below.  And,  within  this  very  month,  we 
heard  the  old  first  Engineer  of  our  Fire  Department,  remark  that 
"  Parson  Wright  was  the  best  man  at  a  fire  he  had  ever  seen 
in  Montpelier." 

We  have  already,  in  a  previous  chapter,  commented  at  con 
siderable  length  on  the  great  and  salutary  reformation   whirl i. 


HIOOltAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  201 

Mr.  Wright,  through  his  untiring  efforts,  effected  in  the  moral 
condition  of  the  people  of*  Montpelier  village.  In  that;  respect 
he  did  all  that  was  there  said  of  him,  and  all  that  his  greatest 
admirers  ever  claimed  for  him.  While  he  knew  of  a  wrong,  a 
vice  or  injurious  habit  among  any  of  his  people,  he  gave  himself 
no  rest  till  he  saw  the  wrong  righted,  the  vice  overcome  and  the 
habit  corrected.  He  was  everywhere  found  exhorting  men  indi 
vidually  as  well  us  collectively.  Though  often  rebuffed,  he  was 
never  discouraged,  but  persistently  returned  again  and  again  to 
the  work  of  accomplishing  his  object,  till  even  the  most  obdurate 
began  to  look  upon  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  they  must  hear 
from  their  misdeeds  and  delinquencies,  and  at  length  to  consider 
that  the  cheapest  tiling  to  be  done  was,  at  least  outwardly,  to 
reform  themselves. 

It  is  not  every  man  and  minister,  to  be  sure,  that  could  have 
pursued  such  a  course  with  such  success.  But  the  subjects  of 
Mr.  Wright's  labors  were  all  fully  conscious,  that  lie  was  per 
fectly  honest  and  uuseliish  in  his  motives,  and  that  his  heart  was 
grieved  and  yearning  for  their  good  ;  and  in  some  way  or  other, 
they  all  yielded — some  perhaps  to  git  rid  of  him — some  to  oblige 
him,  but  more  in  consequence  of  the  sincere  convictions  which 
the  magnetic  influence  of  his  affectionate  voice,  tearful  eye  and 
well  conceived  arguments,  had  planted  permanently  in  their 
hearts. 

It  was  thus,  with  his  earnest  and  efficient  labors  in  the  pulpit, 
that  Mr.  Wright  accomplished  the  reformation  he  did  in  the 
moral  and  religious  condition  of  Montpelier  village,  while  having 
at  the  same  time  the  gratification  oi  seeing  its  temporal  keep 
pace  with  its  spiritual  prosperity. 

But  if  Mr.  Wright  was  such  a  man — if  he  labored  so  much 
and  effected  so  much  for  the  good  of  his  people  and  his  town, 
why  was  he  dismissed  in  his  old  age,  and,  with  broken  -health 
compelled  to  go  abroad  or  starve  'i  This  question  is  more  easily 

26 


202  HISTORY  OP  MONTPELIER. 

asked  than  answered.  Admitting  there  was  fault  on  both  sides 
in  the  unhappy  controversy  that  resulted  in  his  dismissal,  still 
the  fact  stands  out,  and  always  must  stand  out,  that  Mr.  Wright, 
after  having  done  almost  everything  for  his  people,  and  wore 
out  nearly  all  the  energies  of  his  life  in  their  behalf,  was  virtual 
ly  driven  to  vacate  his  sacred  post  among  them. 

His  dismission,  as  will  probably  be  generally  admitted,  grew 
out  of  the  agitation  then  going  on  respecting  the  merits  and  de 
merits  of  the  Masonic  Institution,  to  which  many  of  his  peoplo, 
and  quite  a  number  oi  the  leading  members  of  his  church,  be 
longed.  It  was  claimed  by  the  friends  of  that  order  that  Mr. 
Wright  had  been  found  to  entertain  opinions  adverse  to  the  in 
stitution,  and  that  he  persisted  in  openly  expressing  them.  On 
the  other  side,  it  was  admitted  he  might  entertain  the  alledged 
opinions,  and  have  expressed  them  in  conversation,  but  never 
voluntarily  introduced  them  into  the  pulpit,  and  therefore  had 
only  exercised  a  common  right  of  every  citizen,  and,  of  course, 
had  done  nothing  worthy  of  censure.  The  members  of  the 
church,  who  were  members  of  the  order,  did  not  take  any  part 
in  the  controversy,  but  left  the  battle  to  those  of  the  order  out 
side  the  church,  and  probably  said -nothing  against  Mr.  Wright 
worse  than  to  express  their  regrets  that  he  had  destroyed  his 
influence  by  expressing  the  obnoxious  opinions  ;  and  even  they 
probably  did  nothing  worse  than,  when  the  annual  subscription 
paper  came  round  for  his  support,  to  put  down  ciphers  against 
their  names  instead  of  their  usual  dollar  marks.  In  this  state  of 
things  Mr.  Wright  very  properly  called  a  Council  to  take  cogni 
zance  of  the  subject  of  his  dismission.  The  Council  met,  patient 
ly  heard  the  complaints,  and  by  way  of  decision,  in  substance 
said  :  If  Mr.  Wright  must  go,  we  must  dismiss  him,  but  "  we 
tind  no  fault  with  the  man  ;  see  ye  to  it." 

Mr.  Wright  was  blessed  in  his  domestic  relations.      In  April, 
1811,  he  married  Miss  Charlotte  Whitney  of  Royalton,  Vermont, 


BIOGEAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  203 

a  very  estimable  lady,  by  whom  lie  raised  a  family  of  children, 
all  destined  to  highly  respectable  positions  in  life.  After  his 
dismissal  from  Montpelier  in  1830,  he  was  soon  settled  as  a  min 
ister  in  Hardwick,  Vermont,  where  he  continued  his  professional 
labors  eight  or  nine  years  longer,  when  he  returned  to  his  old 
homestead  at  the  lower  end  of  Montpelier  village,  to  relieve  his 
worn  out  system  by  a  little  rest — to  sicken  and  die  in  the  spring 
of  1840,  at  the  age  of  about  sixty-three-and-a-half  years. 

What  more  can  we  now  say  of  that  rare  man,  Chester  Wright  : 
Nothing,  that  will  make  him  appear  greater  or  better  than  has 
already  been  represented ;  and  we  will  now  only  recapitulate 
the  substance,  as  we  may  justly  do,  in  the  lines  which  Cowper 
wrote  of  Whitfield  : 

"He  loved  the  world  that  hated  him  :  the  tear- 
That  dropp'd  upon  his  Bible  was  sincere  ; 
Assail'd  by  scandal  and  the  tongue  of  strife 
His  only  answer  was,  a  blameless  life, 
Paul's  love  of  Christ,  and  steadiness  unbribed 
Were  copied  close  in  him,  and  well  transcribed." 


204  BISfOBY   OF  MOKTPELIEB, 


COLONEL  JAMES  H.  LANGDON. 

HOOKKK  LA.N<;I»OX.  the  successful  and  widely  known 
merchant  of  Montpelier,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Farmingtou , 
Connecticut,  March  ftcl,  17So.  While  yet  quite  a  youth  he  en 
tered  the  store  of  General  Abuer  Forbes,  then  the  leading  mer 
chant  of  Windsor,  Vt.,  tn  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  merchan- 
tile  profession,  which  he  had  determined  to  make  the  business  of 
his  life.  And  such  was  the  progress  he  made  in  that  knowledge, 
such  the  confidence  he  inspired,  and  such,  at  the  same  time,  the 
tact  and  good  judgment  he  displayed  in  all  the  details  of  trade, 
and  the  more  important  transactions  of  business  coming  within 
the  scope  of  his  action,  that  his  employer,  General  Forbes,  even 
Wore  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one,  unhesitatingly  took 
him  into  partnership,  and  established  him  in  business  at  the  head 
of  a  branch  store  in  the  village  of  Montpelier.  This  was  in 
1.803  ;  and  for  the  next  half  do/en  years  he  continued  to  dn 
business  under  the  firm  of  Langdon  £  Forbes;  when  justly  be 
lieving  lie  had  accumulated  capital  enough  and  friends  enough  in 
this  place  to  warrant  the  movement,  he  bought  out  Gen.  Forbes' 
interest  in  the  store,  and  thenceforward  conducted  the  business  in 
his  own  name,  and  entirely  on  his  own  responsibility. 

From  this  time,  alone  or  in  company  with  different  partners—- 
the  first  and  longest  continued  being  the  systematic  and  clear 
headed  John  Barnard,  who  was  prematurely  cut  down  by  an 
acute  disease  in  1822  ;  and  the  next  the  Hon.  John  Spalding. 
still  surviving — from  this  time,  for  the  next  twenty  years,  Colonel 
Lancrdon  seemed  to  be  wafted  forward  on  one  unvaried  tide  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  205 

prosperity  and  success.  But  having  in  the  main  body  of  this 
work,  in  the  chapter  on  the  progress  and  reforms  of  trade,  fully 
descanted  on  the  great  public  benefits  that  grew  out  of  his  com 
mercial  career, — shown  how  instrumental  he  was  in  reforming 
the  irregularities  of  trade,  which  up  to  his  day  custom  had  sanc 
tioned,  and  in  placing  it  on  a  just  and  honorable  basis,  and  how, 
while  thus  conferring  untold  benetits  on  his  town  by  what  he  did, 
and  by  the  force  of  his  salutary  examples,  lie  so  conducted  hi^ 
dealings  as  well  to  deserve  all  the  remarkable  success  which  at 
tended  him, — we  need  not  here  enlarge  on  his  noble  character 
istics  as  a  merchant ;  and  we  shall  therefore  confine  the  remain 
der  of  our  sketch  to  that  which  particularly  marked  him  as  a 
man  and  a  citizen,  and  gave  him  that  strong  hold  on  public  feel 
ing,  and  that  high  place  in  the  public  estimation,  which  he  re 
tained  through  life. 

lu  1809  Colonel  Langdon  married  Miss  Nabby  Bobbins,  of 
Lexington,  Massachusetts, — a  union  from  which  sprang  five  chil 
dren.  Amon  who  died  in  childhood,  .John  B.,  James  R.  and  Caira 
R.  Langdon,  all  still  living. 

Colonel  Langdon  ever  manifested  a  proper  interest,  and  often 
took  an  active  part  in  the  public  affairs  and  official  business  of 
the  town,  having  at  various  times  filled  with  acceptance  its  most 
important  offices.  He  also  entered,  and  was  rapidly  promoted, 
in  the  military  line,  till  he  gained  the  title  by  which  he  is  here 
designated.  In  the  year  1828,  having  removed  over  the  river  on 
to  his  beautiful  meadows  within  the  borders  of  Berlin,  he  was 
elected  with  unusual  unanimity  by  the  people  of  that  town,  as 
their  representative  in  the  Legislature  :  and  in  the  following 
year  re-elected  to  the  office  still  more  unanimously  ;  and  by  the 
application  of  his  excellent  judgment  and  great  practical  knowl 
edge  in  the  business  of  legislation,  lie  well  justified  the  choice  of 
his  constituents.  In  1828  he  was  elected,  on  the  retirement  of 
the  Hon.  Elijah  Paine,  the  first,  to  hold  the  office.  President  of 


206 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER, 


the  Bank  of  Montpelier,  which  responsible  office  he  continued 
to  hold  to  the  time  of  his  death. 

In  person  Colonel  Langdon  was  well-formed,  and  his  features 
were  all  shapely  and  handsome ;  while  his  countenance  was 
lighted  up  by  one  of  the  most  kindly  and  winning  smiles  that 
enlivened  the  human  lace.  Nor  did  his  countenance  belie  his 
heart,  which  was  inherently  sincere,  sympathetic  and  humane. 
And,  while  in  all  the  movements  and  enterprises  of  public  be 
nevolence,  his  liberality  was  commensurate  with  his  means,  in 
private  charities  and  individual  assistance,  he  went,  as  he  wished, 
far  beyond  what  was  ever  generally  made  known  to  the  public  : 
For  he  was  extremely  averse  to  making  any  parade  of  his  bene 
factions,  and  his  favors  were  very  generally  conferred  under  in 
junctions  of  secrecy.  And  thus  it  was,  that  the  extent  of  his 
private  charities  and  pecuniary  assistance  to  the  distressed  and 
those  laboring  under  business  embarrassments,  were  never  known 
except  through  the  irrepressible  outgushiugs  of  gratitude  from 
the  lips  of  those  whom  he  had  relieved. 

His  lenity  and  forbearance  towards  all  who  were  indebted  to 
him  were  remarkable  :  and,  to  the  credit  of  htiman  nature  be  it 
said,  as  remarkable  was  the  gratitude  of  those  thus  favored, 
and  their  determination  that  he  should  never  be  the  loser  by  the 
kindness  he  had  conferred.  After  he  had  retired  from  business, 
expecting  to  be  much  absent,  Ire  placed  his  demands,  over  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars  in  amount,  in  the  charge  of  a  confiden 
tial  agent,  who  was  an  attorney,  strictly  enjoining  him  to  sue 
nobody  and  distress  nobody,  but  use  all  kindly,  and  charge  him 
for  all  the  expense  and  trouble  incurred  in  the  collections.  And 
though  this  great  amount  of  miscellaneous  demands  remained  in 
the  hands  of  that  attorney  for  nearly  three  years,  and  though  a 
large  number  of  the  debtors  foiled  during  that  time,  yet  in  all 
that  period  never  was  a  single  dollar  lost  out  of  the  whole  col 
lection.  On  the  eve  of  their  failures,  or  when  they  had  any 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  207 

I  ears  of  failure,  the  debtors  would  come  privately  to  the  agent, 
and,  with  the  remark,  that  "  Colonel  Langdon  had  been  too  good 
to  them  to  be  injured,"  voluntarily  placed  in  his  hands  the  fullest 
securities  they  had  in  their  power  to  offer.  Within  one  week 
after  such  transactions,  perhaps  these  debtors  would  fail ;  sher- 
iiTs  would  be  scouring  the  country  for  property  ;  and  almost 
every  creditor  would  suffer  loss  except  Colonel  Langdon.  He, 
to  the  wonder  of  all,  was  always  found  secure. 

The  last  characteristic  incident  of  his  life  occurred,  when  he 
was  on  his  death  bed.  Finding  his  end  drawing  near,  he  sent 
for  his  attorney,  and  ordered  him  to  make  a  life-lease  to  an  old 
revolutionary  soldier,  of  the  farm  he  occupied,  but  of  which  the 
Colonel  held  a  mortgage  for  more  than  its  value.  This  was  the 
last  business  transaction  of  his  life.  He  died  January  7th,  1831. 
As  he  was  the  idol  of  the  people  when  he  lived,  so  at  his  death 
lie  was  lamented  by  more  friends  in  the  community  at  large  than 
falls  10  the  lot  of  but  few  to  have  numbered  among  their  real 
mourners. 


208  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 


THE  HONORABLE  JEDUTHUN  LOOMIS. 

JKDUTHUN  LOOMIS  originated  in  the  town  of  Tolland,  Connect 
icut  ;  and,  as  we  copy  from  the  record  in  his  old  family  Bible, 
entered  with  characteristic  method  and  exactness,  he  was  born 
January  5th,  1771).  After  receiving  a  good  common  school,  and 
a  fair  academical  English  education,  he  studied  law  with  the 
Hon.  Oramel  Hinckley,  of  Thetford,  Vermont,  and  having  there 
been  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  came  to  Montpelier  and  established 
himself  in  his  profession  in  about  the  year  1805. 

In  1807,  March  llth,  he  married  Miss  Hannah  Hiuckley. 
daughter  of  Colonel  and  Judge  Oramel  Hinckley,  of  Thetford, 
who  died  very  suddenly  December  24th,  1813,  leaving  no  issue. 

In  1814,  October  10,  he  married  Miss  Charity  Scott  of  Peach- 
am,  who  died  June  13th,  1821,  leaving  two  sons,  Gustavus  II., 
the  late  Dr.  Loomis,  and  Chauncey  Loomis,  still  living,  having 
buried  a  son  in  infancy. 

In  1822,  October  8th,  he  married  Miss  Sophia  Brigham,  of 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  who  died  in  1855,  leaving  two  daughters 
and  one  son,  Charity,  the  present  Mrs.  Dana,  of  Woodstock : 
Mrs.  Joseph  Prentiss  of  Montpelier,  and  Charles  Loomis.  Esq., 
of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Judge  Loomis  himself  died  Nov.  12, 1843. 

In  1814  Mr.  Loomis  was  appointed  Register  of  Probate,  for 
the  District  of  Washington,  but  held  the  office  only  one  year. 

In  1820  he  was  elected  the  Judge  of  Probate  for  this  District, 
and  had  the  very  unusual  honor  of  receiving  ten  successive  elec 
tions,  the  greatest  number  of  elections  of  any  other  man  being 
five,  given  to  the  Hon,  Sal  via  Collins. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 

From  1807,  up  to  his  death,  there  is  scarcely  a  year  in  which 
lie  did  not  receive,  and,  what  is  better,  well  and  faithfully  exe 
cute,  some  one  of  the  trusts  or  offices  of  town  appointment.  And 
for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  at  least  he  was,  besides  being 
an  efficient  friend  of  common  schools  and  popular  education  gen 
erally,  always  a  laboring  trustee,  often  the  head  prudential  com 
mittee,  and  always  the  treasurer,  and  indeed  the  chief  pillar  of 
Washington  County  Grammar  School.  And  it  was  in  the  latter 
capacity,  to  considerable  extent,  and  to  that  of  being  so  long 
the  admitted  model  Judge  of  Probate  of  all  this  part  of  the 
State,  to  a  still  greater,  that  he  was  mostly  known  to  the  public 
abroad. 

There  was  once  extant  an  old  book  called  "  The  Minute  Phi- 
tosopher."  We  mention  it  not  on  account  of  the  contents  of  the 
(took,  but  on  account  of  the  name,  because  it  is  so  suggestive  of 
the  character  of  Judge  Loomis.  He  was  really  a  very  carefully 
reasoning  and  philosophic  man,  and  carried  his  every  day  phi 
losophy  into  all  the  minutia  of  business,  and  all  the  ordinary 
transactions  of  life.  Any  of  the  little  offices,  trusts  or  commis 
sions  growing  out  of  a  town,  school  district,  highway  district, 
or  neighborhood,  or  family  affairs,  which  the  more  ambitious  or 
selfish  would  disdain  to  accept,  or,  if  they  did,  only  half  execute, 
he  would  cheerfully  accept,  and  always  execute  \vith  the  most 
scrupulous  care  and  faithfulness.  Indeed  he  seemed  to  consider 
it  his  duty  to  do  every  thing  asked  of  him,  if,  in  performing  it, 
he  thought  he  could  benefit  his  fellow  men  individually  or  the 
public  at  large.  It  was  so  with  him  in  his  profession,  so  in  the 
the  church  of  which  he  was  a  very  active  member  and  an  officer, 
and  it  was  BO  everywhere. 

Being  a  tall,  dark  complexioned  man,  of  formal  manners,  with 
a  grave  and  rather  austere  countenance,  he  might  be  taken  by 
the  unacquainted,  for  n  cold,  harsh  man,  witli  few  sensibilities; 
hut  break  through  the  apparent  atmosphere  of  repulsion,  and 


210  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

approach  him,  and  you  would  find  him  as  mild  and  playful  as  a 
lamb  and  as  affectionate  as  a  brother. 

Being  extremely  strict  in  all  moral  and  religious  observances, 
and  seemingly  rather  set  in  his  opinions,  he  might  sometimes  be 
taken  for  a  bigot:  but  get  at  his  real  views  and  feelings,  and 
you  would  find  him  absolutely  liberal,  and  willing  to  make  all 
the  allowance  for  errors  which  the  largest  charity  might  de 
mand. 

A  man  of  legal  knowledge,  ordinary  good  judgment,  and  of 
known  good  motives,  who  is  willing  to  perform  the  duties  of  eve 
ry  small  needful  office,  as  well  as  great  one,  and  who  is  ever 
ready  to  act  the  part  of  adviser,  assistant  and  friend,  in  adjust 
ing  town  difficulties  and  neighborhood  disscntions,  is  always  ;i 
great  blessing  to  a  village  community.  Such  a  man,  most  cer 
tainly,  was  Jednthun  Loomis.  And  more  than  will  ever  be  just 
ly  apreciated,  probably,  is  Moutpelier  village  indebted  to  him 
for  his  untiring  and  self-sacrificing  exertions  to  advance  her  besl 
interests. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES,  211 


THE  HONORABLE  TIMOTHY   MERRILL. 

TIMOTHY  MERRILL  was  emphatically  a  public  man,  and  as 
puch  we  shall  describe  and  trace  him  in  his  official  career.  His 
origin,  different  residences  and  domestic  relations,  however, 
should  be  mentioned  in  the  connection  ;  and  they  are  briefly  as 
follows  : 

Timothy  Merrill  was  born  in  Farmington,  Connecticut,  March 
-<>,  1781,  where,  having  received  little  more  than  a  common 
school  education,  lie,  when  becoming  of  age,  shouldered  his  pack 
and  travelled  on  foot  to  Bennington,  Vermont,  in  which  town 
his  older  brother,  the  Honorable  Orsamus  C.  Merrill,  had  some 
years  before  established  himself  in  the  legal  profession.  Here 
ho  studied  law  :  here,  in  due  course  of  time,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  in  partnership  with  the  after 
wards  noted  Robert  Temple,  in  Rutland.  But  not  feeling  very 
well  satisfied  with  his  prospects  or  situation  here,  he  dissolved 
his  connection  with  Temple  in  less  than  a  year,  and  removed  to 
Montpelier  in  the  year  1809,  and  established  himself  alone  in 
his  profession.  In  1812  he  married  Miss  Clara  Fassett,  daugh 
ter  of  Dr.  Fassett  of  Bennington,  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the 
Revolution.  From  this  union  were  born  five  children — a  son 
who  died  in  infancy,  Ferrand  F.  Merrill,  our  late  well-known 
fellow  citizen  ;  Edwin  S.  Merrill  of  Winchendon,  Mass,  but  for 
merly  Post  Master  of  Montpelier;  Clara  Augusta  Merrill,  a, 
young  lady  of  much  excellence  who  died  in  1842,  and  Timothy 
R.  Merrill,  our  present  Judge  of  Probate  elect. 

In  1811  Mr.  Merrill  was  elected  the  Town  Representative  of 
Montpelier  in  the  Legislature,  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  of- 


212  HISTORY    OF    MONTPELIEB. 

lice  the  following  year.  In  1811,  also,  he  was  elected  the  fir-it 
State's  Attorney  of  the  new  County  of  Jefferson,  and  in  18 U> 
lie  was  again  elected  to  the  same  office,  which  office,  the  name 
of  the  county  being  now  changed  to  that  of  Washington,  he  con 
tinued  to  hold  through  seven  successive  elections,  being  eight  in 
all,  and  two  more  than  was  ever  received  in  that  office  by  any 
man  in  the  county,  Dennison  Smith  having  received  but  six.  ,ln 
1815  he  was  elected  Engrossing  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly, 
and  received  seven  successive  elections  to  the  office.  In  1822 
he  was  elected  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  re 
ceived  nine  successive  elections  to  that  office.  In  1831  he  vva.s 
elected  Secretary  of  State,  which  office  he  retained  till  his  death, 
having  received  in  it  live  successive  elections. 

In  his  profession,  Mr.  Merrill  took  at  least  a  very  fair  rank, 
and  was  sustained  by  as  fair  a  patronage.  But  his  public  em 
ployments  required  too  much  of  his  time  and  attention  to  per 
mit  him  to  reach  the  position  in  his  profession  to  which  his  ad 
mitted  talents  whould  have  otherwise  doubtless  raised  him.  He 
was  ever  considered,  however,  a  safe  legal  adviser ;  and  in  his 
appeals  to  juries,  as  well  as  in  Ids  addresses  to  public  assemblies, 
fie  often  warmed  up  into  genuine  eloquence,  the  effect  of  which 
was  heightened  by  one  of  the  most  clear  toned  and  melodious 
voices  which  it  was  ever  the  good  fortune  of  a  public  man  to 
possess. 

But  if  Mr.  Merrill  did  such  a  fair  professional  business,  to 
bring  him  money,  in  addition  to  his  receipts  from  his  public  offi 
ces,  why  need  he  have  died  worth  so  little  property,  two  or  three 
thousands  being  found  to  be  the  whole  amount  of  his  estate  ? 
The  question  was  often  asked,  and  what  added  pertinency  to  the 
enquiry  was  the  known  fact  that  he  and  his  family  ever  dressed 
and  lived,  for  their  position,  with  great  plainness  and  frugality. 
The  answer  is  probably  to  be  found  in  another  fact :  he  never 
charged  anything  at  all  for  advice,  though  his  office  was  thronged 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  2lo 

by  those  seeking  it ;  and,  being  naturally  a  peace  man  and  very 
conscientious,  he  would  advise  three  men  out  of  lawsuits  where 
he  would  one  into  them.  Again,  he  never  charged  for  his  legal 
services  much  more  than  half  what  was  usually  charged  by  other 
lawyers  of  the  same  professional  standing.  And,  yet  again,  of 
what  he  did  charge  he  would,  in  any  event,  often  remit  a  part, 
and,  if  his  client  was  unsuccessful,  lie  would,  in  his  sympathy  for 
him,  be  quite  likely  to  give  in  nearly  the  whole  of  it. 

Mr.  Merrill,  in  person,  was  below  the  medium  height,  but  had 
;i  tine  head,  good  features  and  a  very  intelligent  and  prepossess 
ing  countenance.  He  was  one  of  the  most  affectionate  of  hus 
bands  and  fathers,  one  of  the  most  agreeable  of  neighbors,  and 
one  of  the  most  correct  and  enlightened  of  citizens. 


214  HISTORY  OF   MONTPELIEK. 


THE  HONORABLE  FERRAND  F,  MERRILL. 

Although  FKRUAND  F.  MERRILL,  has  but  very  recently  departed 
from  life,  and  at  his  death  was  comparatively  a  young  man, 
whose  life  and  character  might  be  thought  better  to  lie  left  to 
some  writer  of  a  more  distant  period,  yet  there  seems  a  fitness 
in  placing  a  brief  sketch  of  him  along  side  of  that  of  his  father. 
And,  when  placed  in  that  connection,  brief  only  it  need  be  ;  for, 
to  a  most  singular  extent,  the  public  history  of  the  father  was 
the  history  of  the  son.  Like  the  father,  and  lor  about  the  same 
number  of  years,  though  at  a  much  younger  age,  the  son  was 
Clerk  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Like  the  father,  was 
the  son  at  once  transferred  from  the  Clerkship  to  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  State,  to  be  therein  retained,  we  believe,  exactly 
the  same  number  of  years  during  which  the  former  lived  to  hold 
the  office.  Like  the  lather,  the  son  was  State's  Attorney  for 
Washington  County,  though,  through  the  altered  rules  of  rota 
tion,  not  so  long;  and,  like  the  father,  was  the  son,  for  the  now 
customary  term,  the  Representative  of  Montpclier  in  the  Legis 
lature. 

And  Ferrand  F.  Merrill,  by  his  education,  great  readiness  in  all 
matters  in  form  acquired  under  his  father's  trainings,  advanta 
ges  of  personal  appearance,  and  great  courtesy  of  manners.  WHS 
unusually  fitted  to  do  well  and  appear  well  in  public  life.  And 
accordingly,  as  might  be  expected,  he  was  an  accomplished  and 
popular  officer.  In  the  Legislature  he  became  a  prominent  mem 
ber  ;  and  in  the  difficult  position  in  which  he  found  himself 
placed,  in  the  keenly  contested  question  relative  to  the  removal 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  21f) 

of  the  seat  of  government  from  Montpelier,  he  displayed  an 
ability  and  tact  which  met  the  full  approval  of  his  constituents, 
and  which,  had  he  consented  to  he  again  a  candidate,  would 
have  ensured  him  further  elections. 

In  private  life  he  was  blameless,  in  all  his  social  relations 
much  esteemed.  In  the  furtherance  of  the  interests  of  religion, 
morals  and  education,  he  took  a  conspicuous  part.  And,  in  fine. 
he  began  to  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  capable  and  use 
ful  of  our  citizens,  who  could  not,  therefore,  but  greatly  deplore 
his  early  exit.  He  died  very  suddenly,  of  apoplexy,  on  the  2d 
of  May,  1859,  in  the  meridian  of  his  usefulness,  and  when  his 
prospects  for  professional  eminence  were  the  brightest,  and  the 
probabilities  of  his  eventual  promotion  to  high  judicial  or  civil 
posts  the  strongest. 


210  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEPt. 


THE  HONORABLE  ARAUNAH  WATERMAN. 

ARAUNAH  WATERMAN  was  born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  No 
vember  8th,  1778.  He  sprang  from  good  Revolutionary  stock, 
his  father  having  been  at  first  a  subaltern  officer,  and  then  com 
missary,  in  the  continental  army,  and  his  uncles  either  officers  or 
soldiers.  His  advantages  for  education  were  so  extremely  lim 
ited,  that,  at  the  utmost,  six  months  schooling,  and  that  before 
the  age  of  twelve  years,  was  all  that  he  received.  At  the  age 
of  about  thirteen,  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter,  of  his  town, 
and  served  till  he  was  twenty-one,  working  steadily  by  day  and 
studying  at  night  by  the  light  of  pine  knots,  to  make  up  the  de- 
ficiences  of  his  education.  Soon  after  acquiring  his  trade,  he, 
by  some  means,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  recommended  as  ;» 
master  mechanic,  to  General  Pinkney,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
was  wishing  to  build  somewhat  extensively  on  his  several  large 
plantations.  He  accordingly  accepted  General  Pinkney's  olfrrs. 
and,  for  the  first  year  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the  super- 
intendency  of  erecting  the  various  structures  contemplated, 
among  which  was  a  fine  Summer  House  on  Sullivan's  Island,  and 
the  next  year,  having,  by  his  capacity  and  integrity,  gained  (lie 
fullest  confidence  of  his  employer,  General  Pinkney,  who  was 
then  appointed  U.  S.  Minister  to  England,  and  consequently 
compelled  to  be  absent,  he  was  made  steward  and  chief  supervi 
sor  over  all  the  General's  estates.  After  leaving  General  Pink- 
ney's  employment  he  returned  to  Connecticut,  but  not  long 
there  to  remain  :  for,  in  1801  or  1802,  lie  came  to  Vermont, 
with  his  brothers,  the  present  Judges  Joseph  Waterman  and 
Thomas  Waterman,  and  other  brothers  and  sisters,  and  with 


B10GRAPHFCAL  SKBTCHKS.  217 

them,  settled  in  the  town  of  Johnson.  In  1804  he  married  Miss 
Rebecca  Noyes,  daughter  of  Oliver  Noyes  of  Hydepark,  and 
sister  of  the  lion.  David  P.  Noyes.  By  this  wife  he  had  several 
children,  union,!?  whom  is  the  Hon.  Vernon  P.  Xoyes  of  Morris- 
town. 

His  wife  dying  in  1812,  he,  in  something  over  a  year  after 
wards,  married  Miss  Melutable  Dodge,  of  New-Boston,  N.  if., 
now  deceased,  but  long  known  among  us,  as  a  pious  and  most 
estimable  woman.  By  her  he  hail  seven  children,  two  of  whom, 
daughters,  are  still  living  on  the  old  homestead  in  Montpelier. 
After  residing  in  Johnson  about  a  doxen  years,  engaged  in  farm 
ing,  constructing  the  machinery  required  about  the  different 
mills  of  that  brisk  village,  and  particularly  by  the  carding  and. 
clothing  works  with  which  he  became  connected,  lie  removed  to 
Montpelier,  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1814,  and  purchased 
the  farm  and  a  portion  of  the  water  privilege,  lying  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  North  Branch,  above  and  around  the  falls,  on  the 
borders  of  this  village.  Here,  besides  carrying  on  his  farm,  he 
>oon  engaged  in  erecting,  improving  and  carrying  on  carding 
and  clothing  works,  and  before  many  years,  in  connection  with 
Seth  Persons,  erected,  and  put  in  operation,  the  comparatively 
extensive  woolen  factory,  which  was  burned  March  1826,  and  at 
the  burning  of  which,  as  mentioned  in  the  body  of  this  work, 
he  came  so  near  losing  his  life.  After  this  catastrophe,  he  main 
ly  employed  himself  in  improving  his  farm,  which,  with  his 
house  soon  brought  considerably  within  the  village  by  its  grad 
ual  extension  in  that  direction,  he  continued  to  occupy  until  his 
death,  coming,  at  the  age  of  eighty  to  close  his  unusually  varied, 
active  and  laborious  life,  on  the  81st  of  January,  18/>9. 

In  1821  Mr.  Waterman  was  elected  town  representative  of 
Montpelier,  and  re-elected  in  the  two  succeeding  years  of  1822 
and  1823.  In  1826  he  was  again  elected  by  his  townsmen  for  a 
fourth  term  of  the  same  office,  When  the  new  State  Senate  was 

'  28 


HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

established,  in  183G.  Mr.  Waterman  was  triumphantly  elected 
as  one  of  the  two  first  Senators  of  Washington  county,  and,  on 
the  following  year,  as  triumphantly  reelected,  to  complete  the 
Senatorial  term,  which,  in  what  is  called  the  Two  year  Rule, 
had  been  previously  adopted.  In  1840,  lie  was  elected  by  the 
Legislature,  to  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  County  Court,  which 
office,  however,  being  unsought  and  unexpected  by  him,  he  de 
clined  to  accept.  As  a  representative  and  senator,  lie  never 
spoke  for  the  sake  of  talking,  and  never  except  to  support  some 
measure,  which  he  believed  calculated  for  the  public  good,  or  to 
subserve  some  cherished  political  interest;  and  then  his  exten 
sive  practical  knowledge,  and  accurate  political  information  en 
abled  him  to  speak  with  effect. 

We  find  Mr.  Waterman's  name  on  our  town  records  often  as 
sociated  with  the  most  important  of  our  town  offices  and  trusts. 
But  he  was  not  much  known  in  these,  because,  doubtless,  he  was 
almost  constantly  in  posts  requiring  a  higher  order  of  capacities, 
and  consequently  attracting  a  more  general  notice.  Being  es 
teemed,  both  theoretically  and  practically,  the  best  surveyor  in 
this  section  of  the  country,  he  was,  after  our  old  surveyor,  Gen 
eral  Davis,  began  to  retire  from  the  field,  much  employed  on 
difficult  surveys  of  land  plots,  disputed  lines,  boundaries  and  the 
laying  out  of  new  public  roads.  And,  in  about  1830,  when  on 
the  completion  of  the  great  canal  in  New  York,  the  feasibility  ol 
canals  across  this  State  began  to  be  agitated,  he  was  appointed, 
under  an  appropriation  from  the  General  Government,  to  con 
duct  a  survey  for  a  canal  from  Burlington  up  the  valley  of  thr 
Winooski,  and  over  the  heights  to  Wells  River,  running  into 
the  Connecticut.  'This  he  accomplished,  and,  in  doing  it,  was 
the  first  man  to  ascertain  the  altitude  of  Montpelier  above  Lake 
Champlain,  and  the  altitude  of  Kettle  Pond  on  the  eastern  bor 
der  of  Marshfield,  the  lowest  summit  level  of  the  heights  between 
Montpelier  and  Connecticut  River.  And  in  proof  of  the  accura 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  21,? 

ey  of  his  survey,  as  imperfect  as  were  his  instruments,  may  be 
cited  the  fact,  that  when  the  surveys  of  the  Central  Railroad 
were  perfected,  it  was  found  that  the  Pjiiginecrs,  with  their 
greatly  more  perfect  instruments,  and  their  everyway  better 
equipments  and  means,  had  made  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  dam 
across  the  river  at  Montpelier,  to  vary  but  between  three  and 
four  feet  from  the  altitude  recorded  in  Mr.  Waterman's  survey 
made  a  dozen  years  before. 

Mr.  Waterman  was  ever  the  steadfast  friend  and  supporter 
of  the  interests  of  science  and  popular  education.  He  was  an 
active  man  in  sustaining  and  improving  our  common  schools,  and, 
for  many  years  one  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  trustees  of  our 
Academy.  And  while  favoring  all  these  interests  in  others,  he 
always,  in  despite  of  the  multiplicity  of  his  cares  and  employ 
ments,  was  a  close  student  himself,  and  found  time  to  keep  him 
self  well  posted  in  all  matters  of  general  science  and  literature. 
He  was  probably  the  most  reliable  geologist  in  Montpelier.  In 
a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  mechanics  and  their  practical 
applications,  lie  had  few  superiors  anywhere.  His  knowledge  of 
history  was  extensive,  and  of  our  national  politics,  singularly 
ample  and  accurate.  The  late  Jonathan  Southmayd,  who  was 
twelve  years  the  preceptor  of  our  Academy,  and  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  often  conferring  with  Mr.  Waterman,  in  the  solution  of 
difficult  problems  in  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics,  mr 
chanics  and  other  sciences,  once  remarked,  that  he  had  never 
met  a  man,  not  educated  in  a  College,  who  could  compare  with 
him  in  the  extent  of  his  general,  and  the  accuracy  of  his  scien- 
tiffic  knowledge. 

As  a  citizen,  as  a  man  and  a  neighbor,  his  usefulness,  kindness 
and  practical  benevolence,  were  universally  admitted,  and,  in 
deed  sufficiently  proved  in  the  fact,  that  the  assistance  he  was 
frequently  rendering  others,  always,  through  their  bad  returns 
for  the  favors  conferred,  kept  down  to  a  simple  competence, 


220  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER 

what  would  otherwise  have  been  a  handsome  property  for  the  in 
heritance  of  his  family. 

Among  all  those  of  an  active  life,  a  man's  capiciiics  and  char 
actcr,  are  best  accurately  measured  by  what  he  accomplishes, 
lly  this  rule,  what  Mr.  Waterman  accomplished  would  place  him 
far  above  the  level  of  ordinary  men.  In  the  first  place  he  made 
himself — no  common  achievmeat  where  such  a  man  i^  made,  and 
made  under  such  disadvantages  ;  and  then  he  achieved  for  him 
self,  for  his  family  and  for  the  public,  all  that  we  have  related  of 
him.  And  let  all  that  stand  as  the  simple  record  of  his  life,  to 
be  left  for  the  contemplation  of  his  descendants  and  friends. 
What  cause  have  they  to  ask  for  a  better  monument  to  his  mem 
ory  '' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  221 


THE  HONORABLE  CYRUS  WAKE, 

The  old  war  horse  that  has  done  good  work  is  too  often,  after 
he  can  no  longer  be  of  much  more  public  use,  turned  out  to 
grass,  to  become  the  object  of  the  scorn  or  ueglect  of  those 
whom  his  services  had  benefited,  to  be  kicked  and  dogged  round 
the  pasture,  and  finally  to  be  knocked  in  the  head,  buried  out  of 
sight  and  he  forgotten. 

Let  us  not  imitate  this  graceless  example  in  these  our  brief 
mementoes  of  those  who,  in  early  days,  did  good  service  in  the 
building  up  of  the  town  of  which  we  have  undertaken  to  give 
the  history. 

CYRUS  WAKE,  son  of  Jonathan  Ware  of  Wrentham,  Mass., 
was  born  May  8,  1769.  Though  left  fatherless  at  the  age  of 
three  years,  he  continued  with  his  family,  attending  the  common 
schools  of  the  place,  till  somewhere  near  the  age  of  fourteen, 
when  lie  went  to  Hartford,  Yt.,  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade, 
in  the  shop  of  a  Mr.  Billings,  who  had  married  his  sister,  lu 
this  shop  he  worked  faithfully  at  the  trade  till  he  was  twenty- 
one  ;  and  then,  with  no  other  education  than  what  he  had  re 
ceived  at  the  common  schools  in  his  boyhood,  and  the  general 
knowledge  he  had  contrived  to  pick  up  by  reading  during  his  ap 
prenticeship,  he  soon  went  to  studying  law  with  the  once  well 
known  Hon.  Charles  Marsh  of  Woodstock.  After  remaining 
here  a  year  or  two,  he  went  to  Royalton  and  completed  the  pre 
scribed  course  of  legal  studies  with  Jacob  Smith,  Esq.,  of  that 
town.  He  was  here  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1799,  and  the  same 
year  came  to  Montpelier  and  opened  an  office  in  the  village. 
His  capacities  appear  to  have  early  attracted  the  attention  of 


222  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEE, 

his  townsmen  ;  for  within  about  one  year  after  he  came  into  town, 
we  find  him   figuring  in  town  offices,  in  sonic  one  of  which,  he 
was  retained  until  the  September  State  election,  1805  ;  when  he 
was  elected   to  represent  Montpclier  in  the   General  Assembly  ; 
and  so  acceptably  did  he  acquit  himself,  and  so  much  to  the  t,at 
isfaction  of  his  constituents,  that  they  gave  him  live  annual  suc 
cessive  elections,  a  number  never  exceeded  in   the  case  of  any 
Montpelier  representative,  and  never  equalled  except  in  the  case 
of  Colonel  Davis.     While  still    representative  of  his   town   hr- 
was,  in  1808  made  chief  Judge  of  Caledonia  County   Court,  to 
which  office   he  received   three  successive  elections,  being  con 
tinned  in   that  responsible  and   highly    honorable  public  trust, 
until  the  organization  of  the  new  County  of  Jefferson,  which  on 
account  of  his  residence  within   it,  made  him   ineligible  to  any 
further  elections  to  the  bench  of  Caledonia  County.     And  in  a<l 
dition  to  these  offices,  lie  was   annually  appointed   what  is  called 
the  law  and  trial  justice  of  the  peace,  for  the  last  foity  years  of 
his  life,  doing,  through  a  large  portion  of  that  period,  the  great 
cr  share  of  the  justice  business  of  the  place,  and  making  its  prof 
its  the  main  means  of  his  livelihood. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Judge  Ware,  at  the  time  he  was 
the  Judge  of  the  Caledonia  County  Court  and  the  Representative 
of  Montpelier,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  was  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  the  State.  That  his  rulings,  and  de 
cisions  while  Judge,  met  the  approbation  of  the  bar  and  the 
people,  is  perhaps  sufficiently  attested  in  the  fact,  that  he  was 
annually  elected  to  the  bench,  as  long  as  he  was  eligible,  at  the 
instance  of  the  people  of  the  county  where  his  judicial  ministra 
tions  were  best  known.  That  his  general  course  as  town  repre 
sentative,  was  approved  by  his  constituents,  is  shown  by  the  same 
token;  and  that  he  secured  them,  by  his  talents  and  skillful  man 
agement,  at  the  time  of  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government 
here  particular  and  untold  advantages,  need  not  rest  on  his  tes- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  22;' 

timony,  nor  that  of  his  family  traditions.  The  late  Hon.  John 
Mattocks,  who  was  an  active  participant  in  what  was  called  the 
**  first  State  House  struggle,"  was.  in  his  life  time,  heard  by 
more  than  one  person  in  tins  village  to  declare  that,  however 
strongly  right  and  policy  demanded  the  location  of  the  seat  of 
'government  here  at  the  centre  of  the  State,  yet  so  keen  was  the 
rivalry  for  the  honor  by  the  older  villages  of  the  State,  that  it 
would  never  have  been  conferred  on  Montpelier  but  for  the  un 
wearied  exertions,  and  able  and  exceedingly  skillful  management, 
of  its  Representative,  Judge  Ware. 

For  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  through  improvidence, 
careless  management  of  his  affairs,  and  the  growing  expenses  of 
a  large  family,  but  not  through  personal  vices,  he  appears  to 
have  sunk  into  comparative  poverty,  and  into  the  public  neglect 
that  too  often  accompanies  it.  But  even  'in  his  lowest  state  of 
poverty,  he  was  always  a  philosopher. 

"  I  hope  you  don't  call  me  poor,"  he  would  say  to  thoso  who 
attempted  to  commiserate  him  on  his  poor  circumstances.  "  1 
consider  it  settled  that  a  white  child  is  worth  two  negro  chil 
dren,  which  are  held  at  live  hundred  dollars  apiece.  And  there 
fore  as  fast  as  1  had  children  born,  1  put  them  down  on  my  in 
ventory,  at  one  thousand  dollars  each,  till  my  estate  reached  the 
handsome  amount  of  six  thousand  dollars.  And.  thank  Heaven, 
I  have  the  same  property  yet  on  hand." 

In  structure  of  mind,  in  thought,  words  and  ways,  Judge 
Ware  was  probably  the  rnosf  perfectly  original  character  we  ever 
had  in  Montpelier.  And  his  shrewd  observations,  and  quaint 
and  witty  sayings  were,  in  his  day,  more  quoted  than  those  of 
any  other  man  in  all  this  section  of  the  country.  Though  clear, 
discriminating  and  patient  in  investigating  all  important  cases, 
which  he  conducted  by  a  silent  process  of  mind,  yet  the  result 
was  generally  made  known  in  terms  and  phrases  which  nobody 
else  would  think  of  usinR-,  His  brain  was  most  singularly  ere 


224  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

ative  and  futile  ;  and  it  seemed  to  be  his  greatest  recreation,  it' 
not  happiness,  to  indulge  in  its  hall'  serious,  half  sportive  frolics. 
We  have  it  from  a  lady  of  this  village  that,  when  a  small  girl, 
she  and  her  mate  used  to  resort  to  his  house,  night  after  night, 
to  hear  him  improvise  an  original  novel,  which,  for  their  gratili- 
cation,  lie  would  begin  one  evening,  take  up  the  next  where  ho 
left  it,  and  so  carry  it  on,  in  good  keeping,  through  a  succession 
of  hearings,  till  it  was  finished,  making  probably  a  more  instruc 
tive  and  amusing  tale  than  many  that  have  been  published. 

Judge  Ware  married  Miss  Patty  Wheeler,  daughter  of  Cant 
ner  Wheeler,  Esq.,  of  Barre,  May  the  26th,  1803,  who  still  sm 
vives  him.      They  had  six  children — Gardner   Wr.  Ware,  now 
deceased  ;    Patty  Militiah,  now  wife  of  Samuel  Galdwell,  of  Si. 
Johns,  Canada  East ;    Cyrus  Leonard  Ware,  of  the  vicinity  of 
New  York ;  Henry  Ware,  of  Ohio ;    George   Ware,   of  part* 
unknown  ;  Mary  Ware,  the  wife  of  Joel  Foster,  Jr.,  of  the  firm  of 
Hyde  <fc  Foster,  and  Louisa  Ware,  now  residing  with  her  mother 
and  sister,  at  Mr.  Foster's. 

Judge  Ware  died  at  Montpelier,  February    17,1849,   at  the 
age  of  nearly  eighty, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


THE  HONORABLE  SALVIN  COLLINS, 

Among-  the  men  of  political  and  official  prominence,  in  the 
earlier  period  of  the  History  of  Montpelier,  was  the  Honorable 
CALVIN  COLLINS. 

He  was  born  in  Southboro',  Massachusetts,  March  6th,  17tJ8, 
where  lie  remained  until  he  reached  the  age  of  about  twenty- 
three:  when  he  emigrated  to  Berlin,  Vermont.  Though  coming 
a  year  or  two  later  than  the  earliest,  yet  he  may  be  reckoned 
among  that  remarkable  band  of  the  early  settlers  of  Berlin, 
consisting  of  Zachariah  Pcrrin,  Jabez  Ellis,  Eleazcr  Hubbard, 
David  Nye,  Elijah  Nye,  Solomon  Nye,  James  Hobart,  James 
TCobart,  Jr.,  John  Taplin,  Hezekiah  Sillo\vay,  Jacob  Black, 
William  Flagg,  John  Stewart,  Matthew  Wallis,  James  Sawyer, 
Aaron  Strong,  James  Perley,  Ira  House,  Nath'l  Boswortli, 
Simeon  Dewey,  James  Braman,  Cyrus  Johnson,  Major  Jones, 
and  others,  than  whom,  a  more  hardy,  enterprising,  industrious, 
virtuous  and  long-lived  set  of  men  never  entered  the  wilds  of 
Vermont.  All  these  but  two,  during  the  last  twenty  or  thirty 
years,  have  been,  year  after  year,  and  one  after  another,  dropping 
into  the  grave,  at  very  advanced  ages,  and  the  two  excepted, 
the  Rev.  James  Hobart,  the  venerable  Simeon  Dewey,  Esq., 
only  survive,  the  former  at  the  age  of  ninety-your  and  the  latter 
at  the  age  of  ninety,  as  the  representative  of  those  departed 
founders  of  that  excellent  town. 

On  coming  to  Vermont,  Mr.  Collins  purchased  the  farm  ad 
joining  those  of  Zachariah  Pcrrin,  on  the  east,  and  Zabez  Ellis, 
on  the  south,  which  to  this  day  is  known  as  the  old  Collins  farm. 

29 


226  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

About  the  time  of  his  settling  in  Berlin,  he  married  Miss  Rebecca 
Wilder,  of  Lancaster,  Massachusetts,  by  whom  lie  had  three 
daughters  and  two  sons,  the  oldest  being  the  wife  of  the  Hon. 
John  Spalding  of  Montpelier.  After  clearing  up  and  cultivating 
Iiis  farm  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  he  sold  it  to  Zachariah  Perrin, 
and  took  up  his  residence  at  Berlin  'Corners,  which  was  then  be 
coming  something  of  a  village,  containing  a  store,  a  tavern  and 
several  mechanics'  shops. 

In  180o,  he  was  elected  by  his  townsmen,  as  their  representa 
tive  to  the  General  Assembly.  In  1806  he  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  office.  In  1811  he  was  elected  second  Assistant  Judge 
of  the  County  Court,  of  the  new  county  of  Jefferson,  and  during 
the  same  year  took  up  his  residence  in  Montpelier  village.  In 
1812  he  received  a  second  election  as  County  Judge.  In  181 T/ 
he  was  elected  the  Judge  of  Probate  for  the  District  of  Wash 
ington,  and  so  well  acquitted  himself  in  the  responsible  duties 
of  that  office,  that  he  had  the  honor  of  receiving  five  successive 
elections,  a  greater  number  than  ever  was  received  in  this  Dis 
trict  by  any  man  except  Judge  Loomis.  For  the  last  twenty 
years  of  his  life,  at  least,  he  was  constantly  in  the  commission  of 
the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  for  a  great  portion  of 
that  time,  did  a  large  share  of  the  Justice  business  of  the  vil 
lage. 

Mr.  Collins  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  exemplary  mem 
bers  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Berlin,  and,  on  removing 
to  Montpelier,  united  himself  with  the  Congregational  Church 
of  this  place,  of  which,  in  a  few  years,  he  was  chosen  a  deacon, 
and  as  such,  officiated  through  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Judge  Collins,  his  first  wife  dying  in  1816,  marriod  Mrs.  Lucy 
Clarke,  who  survived  him  about  eight  years. 

Unobtrusive,  unassuming,  quiet,  social  and  intelligent,  few 
men  were  better  calculated  to  make  friends  than  Judge  Collins , 
and  few  men  ever  had  more  'of  them.  As  a  man  his  abidins 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  227 

integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  were  never  doubted  ;  while  the 
important  trusts  and  offices,  to  which  he  was  time  and  again 
elected,  sufficiently  show  in  what  estimation  his  intellectual  pow 
ers,  though  unaided  by  any  but  the  commonest  of  educations, 
were  held  by  the  public-. 

He  died  November  Oth,  1881,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years, 
with  an  extensive  circle  of  friends  and  relatives,  and  the  public 
HI  large,  for  his  mourners,  all  uniting  in  the  expression  that  a 
good  and  useful  man,  an  exemplary  Christian  and  an  enlightened 
citizen  had  departed. 


HISTORr  OF   MONTPELIER. 


CAPTAIN  TIMOTHY  HUBBARD. 

To  be  numbered  with  those,  who,  by  their  business  capacities 
and  energy  of  character,  contributed  most  to  the  wealth  and  pros 
perity  of  Montpelier,  were  three  brothers,  Timothy,  Roger  and 
Chester  Hubbard,  who  came  here  before,  or  about  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century.  They  were  all  enterprizing,  clear  head 
ed  men,  and,  while  they  remained  in  trade,  successful  merchants, 
especially  Chester  Hubbard,  who  confined  himself  extensively  to 
trade,  and  died  in  1832,  leaving,  though  then  only  in  middle  life, 
a  very  handsome  property.  But  as  the  elder  more  particularly 
identified  himself  with  the  public  offices  and  institutions  of  the 
town,  and  moreover  posessed  characteristics  which  more  largely 
attracted  public  attention,  we  have  selected  him  as  their  repre 
sentative  in  the  sketch  which  follows  :— 

Timothy  Hubbard  was  born  in  Windsor  Parish  of  Winterbury, 
a,  short  distance  from  the  city  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  on  the 
17th  of  August,  177<>.  He  lived  with  his  father  and  worked  on 
his  farm  till  the  age  of  twenty-one,  getting  all  the  education  he 
ever  had  at  the  poor  common  schools  of  the  place.  After  con 
tinuing  to  work  on  his  father's  farm,  on  stipulated  wages,  prob 
ably,  about  four  years  after  he  was  of  age,  he  came,  in  June 
1799,  to  Montpelier,  and  established  himself  in  trade  with  Wyllis 
J.  Cadwell,  Esq.,  a  connection  of  the  Lymans  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut  and  Hartford,  Vermont.  In  1801  he  married  Miss 
Lucy  Davis,  the  third  daughter  of  Colonel  Jacob  Davis,  and  a 
very  estimable  woman.  In  1803,  he  dissolved  his  connection 
with  Mr.  Cadwell,  and  went  into  partnership  in  trade  with  his 
distinguished  brother-in-law,  the  Hon.  David  Wing.  After  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  229 

death  of  Judge  Wing,  iu  1806,  he  soon  associated  with  him  in 
trade  his  own  brother,  Roger  Hubbard,  and  continued  in  busi 
ness  with  him  till  about  1816,  when  he  ceased  to  be  any  further 
engaged  in  mercantile  affairs,  and  thence  forward  employed  him 
self  in  supervising  the  cultivation  of  his  different  valuable  farms 
in  Berlin,  and  particularly  the  very  eligible  one  on  the  southern 
borders  of  Montpelier  Village,  which  he  soon  made  his  home 
stead  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

In  1810  he  was  elected  Captain  of  the  fine  military  company, 
called  the  Governor's  Guards,  of  which  Isaac  Putnam  was  the 
first  captain  ;  and  though  he  was  taken  almost  from  the  ranks, 
lie  soon  showed  himself  to  be  one  of  the  best  military  officers 
that  ever  paraded  a  company  in  the  streets  of  Montpelier ;  and 
when  the  news  of  the  invasion  of  Plattsburgh  by  the  British,  in 
September,  1814,  reached  Montpelier,  he  sallied,  cane  iu  hand, 
into  the  streets,  summoned  a  drummer  and  lifer,  one  of  them  at 
least,  his  own  hired  man,  to  his  side,  and  with  them,  marched  the 
streets  all  day,  beating  up  volunteers,  to  start  at  once  for  the 
scene  of  action.  And  so  efficient  were  his  bold  appeals,  and 
such  was  his  fired  energy  throughout  the  whole  occasion,  that 
before  night,  he  had  enlisted  three-fourths  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
who  chose  him  their  Captain  by  acclamation.  Being  now  in  au 
thority,  and  at  the  head  of  perhaps  the  largest  and  best  company 
of  all  the  Vermont  Plattsburgh  volunteers,  with  the  staunch 
Joseph  Howes  for  his  second  in  command,  he  decisively  gave  his 
orders  for  the  next  day  ;  and  accordingly,  at  an  early  hour,  the 
next  morning,  they  were  all  seen  pouring  along,  in  hot  haste,  for 
the  scat  of  war,  by  night  they  were  in  Burlington,  and  the  next 
day  embarking  on  sloops,  and  crowding  all  sail  for  Plattsburgh, 
where  they  arrived  in  season  to  take  their  place  in  tiie  line  of 
battle. 

Captain  Hubbard  was  often  chosen  to  iill  the  most  important 
town  offices,  especially  if  there  happened  to  be  pending  any 


230  HISTORY  OF  MONTPELTER. 

financial  difficulty,  growing  out  of  conflicting  interests,  which 
others  were  unwilling  to  touch.  Those  he  always  straightened 
out  without  fear  or  favor  to  clique  or  party,  but  often  at  the  ex 
pense  of  another  election,  though  when  another  such  difficult} 
occurred  they  were  all  for  calling  him  back  again :  when  he 
would,  in  his  singularly  frank  and  independent  way,  give  them  to 
understand,  that  it  was  all  the  same  with  him,  whether  they 
elected  him  or  not,  but  if  they  did,  they  might  depend  on  it,  he 
should  not  fear  to  do  his  duty.  And  there  can  be  little  doubt, 
that,  had  he  been  willing  to  condescend  to  keep  down  this  mark 
ed  trait  of  his  character,  or  play  even  a  little  of  the  demagogue, 
we  should  have  seen  him  in  higher  civil  offices. 

Captain  Hubbard  was  sometimes  harsh  in  rebuking  the  faults 
of  others,  or  in  defending  himself,  when  he  unexpectedly  met 
opposition  in  the  path  of  what  he  considered  Ids  right  and  duty. 
But  he  seemed  to  give  no  lasting  offense  :  for  the  offended  knew 
that  as  soon  as  he  found  himself  in  the  wrong,  he  would  be  the 
first  to  rectify  it.  He  was  liberal  to  the  poor  and  always  gave 
freely  to  forward  all  educational,  religious  and  benevolent  ob 
jects.  Let  us  advert  to  a  single  instance,  which,  besides  illustra 
ting  these  traits  of  his  character,  discloses  a  fact  which  interests 
the  public.  When,  in  what  had  been  before  called  the  Barrp 
street  school  district,  was  built  a  new  school  house,  some  twenty 
years  ago,  the  Captain  bought  arid  caused  to  be  hung  in  the  cu 
pola  of  this  school  building,  a  valuable  new  bell.  And  the  dis 
trict  thereupon,  at  a  regular  meeting  unanimously  voted  that 
their  school  house  should  thereafter  be  called  "  Hubbard  StreH- 
School  House"  and  the  street  on  which  it  stood  be  changed  from 
Barro  Street  to  Hubbard  Street.  And  this  is  still  the  only  name 
that  can  be  legitimately  applied  to  it- 
Captain  Hubbard's  business  and  financial  talents,  and  trust, 
worthiness  for  all,  not  excepting  even  the  most  important  posts, 
were  widely  admitted  in  his  day,  and  can  hereafter  always  be 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  281 

made  to  appear  011  public  records,  the  records  of  the  numerous 
estates,  of  which  he  was  the  efficient  administrator,  and  the  rec 
ords  of  the  Bank  of  Montpelier  which,  for  years,  he  skillfully 
managed  in  the  capacity  of  its  President. 

A  i  the  age  of  about  fifty  he  reached  a  point  which  few  wealthy 
men  wr  reach,  the  point,  when  he  thought  he  had  property 
enough,  and  that  he  had  better  be  bestowing  it  where  it  would  do 
the  most  good.  Accordingly  lie  began  giving  it  to  the  most 
needy  of  the  numerous  circle  of  his  relatives,  and  continued  the 
good  work,  till  a  full  third  of  his  estate  had  been  bestowed  on 
them.  His  first  wife  dying  in  1889,  he  shortly  married  Miss 
Auner  May,  who,  as  his  widow  and  legatee,  still  survives  him 
on  the  old  Homestead. 

He  died  on  the  28th  day  of  October,  IboO,  leaving  no  issue 
that  long:  survived  him. 


232  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELTER. 


GENERAL  EZEKIEL  P.  WALTON. 

In  the  incipient  stages  of  the  growth  of  every  country  village 
there  are  nearly  always  two  different  personages  who  occupy  the 
largest  space  in  the  thoughts  of  the  people — the  Minister  ami 
the  Editor.  And  in  proportion  as  these  are  faithful,  intelligent 
and  able,  so,  to  an  almost  unappreciable  extent,  will  be  its  moral, 
social  and  intellectual  advancement.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of 
Montpelier,  for  the  first  twenty  years  after  the  place  could  fairly 
lay  claim  to  the  dignity  of  a  village,  to  have  the  right  kind  of  a 
man  for  her  Minister,  and  the  right  kind  of  a  man  for  an  Editor, 
iu  the  persons  of  Chester  Wright  and  Exekiel  I*.  Walton.  A 
sketch  of  the  former  has  already  been  p;ivcn  :  one  of  the  latter 
remains  to  be  furnished. 

EZEKIEL  PARKER  WALTON  was  born  in  the  year  1789,  in  Can 
terbury,  N.  H.,  in  which  town  his  father,  George  Walton,  for 
merly  resided,  but  from  which  he  at  length  removed  to  Peacham, 
Vt.  There  was  a  good  Academy  at  Peacham,  and  young  Wal 
ton,  previous  to  reaching  the  age  of  fifteen,  attended  it  a  few 
terms,  studying  the  ordinary  English  branches,  and  completing 
all  the  school  education  he  ever  received. 

There  was,  at  this  time,  a  small  newspaper,  of  Federal  poli 
tics,  published  at  Peacham  by  Mr.  Samuel  Goss,  a  practical 
printer  and  Editor  of  his  own  paper,  which  was  called  the  G-re^-n 
Mountain  Patriot.  Into  this  establishment  the  boy  Walton  often 
found  his  way,  and  at  length  began  to  feel  so  much  interest  in 
the  business  he  saw  going  on  that  he  offered  himself  as  an  ap 
prentice  to  the  trade :  and  Mr.  Goss,  as  he  has  recently  told  us. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  2o>> 

so  liked  the  looks  of  the  bright  little  fellow  that  he  concluded 
to  take  him  in  that  capacity,  and  io  despite  of  the  opinion  of 
others,  who  believed  that  little  could  ever  lie  made  of  him.  As 
Mr.  Goss  had  predicted,  however,  the  boy  turned  out  a  well  be 
haved,  faithful  apprentice,  and  made  good  proficiency  in  his 
trade.  After  serving  three  years  at  his  trade  in  Peacham,  he 
came,  in  1807,  to  Montpelier,  with  Mr.  Goss,  who  bought  out 
the  Vermont  Precursor,  a  paper  established  here  the  year  pre 
vious  by  the  Rev.  Clark  Brown,  and  changed  the  name  to  that  of 
the  Vermont  Watchman.  Here  he  served  out  the  remainder  of 
his  apprenticeship,  which  expired  in  1810  :  when,  being  of  legal 
age,  he,  in  company  with  Mark  Goss,  a  fellow  apprentice  in  the 
office,  bought  out  Mr.  Samuel  Goss  ;  and  the  paper  was  then, 
for  the  next  half  dozen  years,  conducted  by  the  lirra  of  Walton 
A  Goss,  Mr.  Walton  discharging  the  chief  duties  of  editor,  in 
181h'  Mr.  Mark  Goss  went  out  of  the  establishment,  and  Mr. 
Walton  became  its  sole  proprietor  and  editor,  and  so  continued 
nearly  twenty  years  ;  when,  as  his  sons  became  of  age,  he  took 
i hern  into  partnership,  and  the  business,  to  which  book-selling 
and  paper-making  were  at  length  added,  was  conducted  in  the 
name  of  E.  P.  Walton  <v  Son?  until  18;V>.  during  which  he 
\\holly  gave  up  the  proprietorship  of  the  newspaper  to  his  oldest 
son,  the  present  Hon.  Eliakim  Persons  Walton,  who  still  owns 
and  conducts  it.  Though  the  editorship  had  been  entrusted  to 
this  son  for  many  years  previous  to  1853,  General  Walton  con* 
tinned  to  assist  in  editing  and  in  writing  for  certain  departments 
of  the  paper,  even  into  the  last  year  of  his  life. 

At,  an  early  period  he  passed  rapidly  along  the  line  of  military 
promotion  till  he  reached  the  rank  of  Major  General,  when  he 
threw  these  kinds  of  honors  aside  and  thought  no  more  of  them. 
Mr.  Walton  was  never  an  office  seeker,  nor  was  office,  as  much  as 
was  due  to  him  as  a  man  and  a  politician,  nor  half  as  much  as  was 
due  to  him  from,  his  party,  ever  bestowed  on  him.  He  was. 

30 


w34  HISTORY    OF   MONTl'ELIEJ!. 

however,  .several  times  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  town  Rep 
resentative,  but  never  wh«n  that  party  happened  to  be  in  the  ma 
jority.  In  1827  he  was  elected  one  of  the  Council  of  Censors, 
and  served  with  credit  to  himself  and  his  electors,  among  a 
hoard  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  State,  Judges  H. 
Turner,  P.  Kellogg  and  S.  S.  Phelps  being  included  among  the 
number.  In  the  Presidential  election  of  1852  lie  was  elected 
one  of  the  Electoral  College  for  Vermont,  when  the  vote  of  the 
State  was  thrown  for  General  Scott.  In  1X54,  he  was  nomi 
nated  as  candidate  for  the  office  of  Governor  of  Vermont  by  a 
large  mass  State  Convention,  and  could  the  people  have  had 
their  way,  would  have  been  triumphantly  elected. 

But  out  of  an  ardent  desire  to  consolidate  the  political  senti 
ments  of  the  people  in  one  controlling  organization,  as  well  as 
out  of  high  personal  regard  for  the  venerable  Chief  Justice. 
Stephen  Royce,  who  had  been  previously  named  for  the  execu 
tive  chair  by  a  Convention  of  the  Whig  party,  General  Walton 
cheerfully  yielded  his  place  on  the  ticket.  The  name  of  Judge 
Royce  was  substituted  by  the  State  Committee,  and  he  was 
heartily  supported  by  the  people  ;  and  thus  was  organized  the 
present  Republican  party  of  the  State.  For  that  organization,  a 
large  measure  of  credit  is  due  to  Gen.  Walton. 

We  have  named  the  circumstances  connected  with  Mr. 
VVal ton's  nomination  to  the  office  of  Governor,  for  the  double 
purpose  of  showing  the  remarkable  lack  of  even  well-war 
ranted  assumptions,  in  the  man,  and  his  patriotic  readiness  to 
submit  to  any  personal  sacrifice  which  he  was  led  to  suppose 
public  good  required  him  to  make,  as  well  as  of  showing  how  his 
party,  while  so  generally  admitting  his  qualifications  for  office, 
and  the  merit  of  his  services  in  their  behalf,  so  strangely  over 
looked  him,  when  they  so  often  had  the  power  to  reward  and 
honor  him.  That  he  was  ever  honorable  and  just  in  his  treat 
ment  towards  his  political  opponents,  the  writer  of  this  sketch , 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  235 

who  was  lor  many  years  one  of  them,  can,  and  here  does  most 
cheerfully  attest ;  and  the  late  Araunah  Waterman,  who  was 
ever  a  staunch  political  opponent,  was  often  heard  frankly  to  ad 
mit  that  "  General  Walton  was  both  an  honorable  man  and  an 
honest  politician.''  That  he,  in  his  long,  persistent,  judicious, 
and  able  editorial  labors,  was  eminently  instrumental  in  estab 
lishing  the  ascendency  of  his  party  and  keeping  it  in  power,  is 
a  fact  too  well  known  to  be  questioned.  Probably,  indeed,  that 
man  has  never  lived  in  Vermont,  who  did  so  much  toward  build 
ing  up  the  old  Whig  party  of  the  State,  and  its  successor,  the 
Republican  party,  which  he  lived  to  see  become,  from  the  minor 
ity  in  which  he  found  it,  one  of  the  most  overwhelming  majori 
ties  ever  recorded  in  the  history  of  party  warfare.  }>ut  while  it 
was  his  lot  to  do  so.  and  see  all  this,  it  was  his  lot  also  to  btj 
often  compelled,  like  many  another  political  editor.  u  to  make 
brick  without  straw,"  or,  in  other  words,  manufacture  great 
men  out  of  small  patterns,  who.  when  made,  carried  their  heads 
so  high  as  generally  to  entirely  overlook  their  political  creator. 
Mr.  Walton's  style  of  writing  was.  for  his  advantages,  unusu 
ally  correct,  and  unusually  well  calculated  for  enforcing  his  sen 
timents  and  enlisting  the  sympathy  of  his  readers.  During  the 
first  years  of  his  residence  in  Montpelier,  he,  in  company  with 
other  young  aspirants  of  the  village,  got  up  an  association  for 
mutual  improvement  in  knowledge  and  literature,  called  the 
*••  Franklin  Society.''  In  this  Society,  in  which  theme  writing 
was  a  leading  exercise,  he  probably  made  much  progress  in  form 
ing  his  style,  which  was  evidently  modelled  on  that  of  Dr. 
Franklin,  so  generally  the  great  oracle  of  the  printer  boy.  The 
hott  honnne  of  "Poor  Richard,"  however,  can  never  be  successful 
ly  imitated  by  a  man  without  a  good  heart.  But  Mr.  Walton 
had  that  heart :  and,  through  the  force  of  finely  blended  emotion 
al  and  intellectual  qualities  of  his  heart,  he  gradually  formed  a 
style  of  his  own,  which,  with  the  vein  of  good  common  sense 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEB. 

that/  pervaded  it,  gave  him  rank  with  the  most  pleasing  and  in 
structive  of  our  editorial  writers.  As  before  intimated,  lie  con 
tinued  to  write  for  his  old  paper  to  the  last :  and  in  so  doing, 
besides  his  instructive  articles  on  farming  and  domestic  economy, 
he  wrote  and  published  in  the  Watchman,  the  year  before  his 
death,  sixteen  numbers  on  the  events  of  the  Olden  Times  in  the 
Valley  of  the  Winooski,  over  the  signature  of  Oliver  Old-School , 
which  deserve  to  be  repnblishcd  in  pamphlet,  for  public  reading 
and  preservation. 

In  the  political  world.  Gen.  Walton  was  ever  a  person  to  be 
consulted — among  men  lie  was  always  a  man — in  the  Church  an 
influential  officer — in  the  social  circle  a  dignified,  but.  a  very 
courteous  and  kindly  companion,  and  in  his  family  an  exemplary 
husband  and  father.  His  integrity,  whether  in  business  or  poli 
tics,  appears  never  to  have  been  doubted,  by  either  friend  or 
foe  :  his  general  intellectual  capacity  was  always  conceded,  and 
his  frank  and  generous  disposition  known  to  the  utmost  limits  of 
his  extensive  personal  acquaintance. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1811,  Mr.  Walton  married  Miss  Prussia 
Persons,  daughter  of  Eliakirn  D.  Persons,  of  Montpelier,by  whom 
lie  had  eight  children — Eliakim  P.,  now  in  Congress;  Harriet 
Newell,  wife  of  the  Hon.  H.  R.  Wing,  a  lawyer  of  standing  at 
( -ilen's  Falls.  X.  V.;  George  Parker,  a  very  promising  young 
man  who  died  at  the  age  of  about  twenty-four  years,  at  New- 
Orleans  ;  Nathaniel  Porter,  for  some  years  the  accountant  of 
the  firm  of  E.  P.  Walton  «Sr  Sons ;  Chauncey,  now  an  invalid  : 
Samuel  M.,  the  book-binder  in  Montpelier  ;  Ezekiel  Dodge,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  about  twenty-live  years,  at  Philadelphia  :  and 
Mary,  wife  of  George  Dewey,  a  merchant  of  New  York  city. 

This  sketch  would  not  be  complete  without  a  brief  notice  of 
the  religious  character  of  Mr.  Walton.  He  was  an  earnest, 
frank  and  sincere  Christian,  always  warm  and  generous  in  the 
utterance  and  support  of  his  religious  principles.  He  combined 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  23T 

the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  the  boldness  of  the  lion  and  the 
harmlcssness  of  the  dove,  in  his  whole  Christian  course.  He 
was  a  devoted  member  and  an  honorable  oflice  bearer  in  the 
Congregational  Church  for  many  years.  His  piety  irradiated  his 
household,  his  secular  cares  and  his  place  of  business.  Every 
where,  at  all  times,  he  was  the  admirable  type  of  a  Christian 
gentleman.  In  the  Conference,  in  the  Sabbath  School,  in  the 
support  of  charitable  and  religious  institutions,  none  surpassed 
and  few  equalled  him.  The  young  men  in  his  office  felt  his  in 
fluence  very  strongly..  Of  the  many  who  graduated  from  his 
office,  and  came  to  fill  afterwards,  with  honor,  public  stations  in 
the  councils  of  the  State  and  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  in  the 
Courts  of  Justice,  twelve  have  been  members  of  churches,  and 
two  have  become  useful  and  respected  Ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
And  none  could  bear  higher  testimony  to  the  invariable  and  ele 
vated  religious  character  of  Mr.  Walton  than  they. 

(-Jen.  'Walton,  died  on  the  27th  of  November,  18o»5,  leaving,  as 
might  be  expected  from  one  of  his  liberal  views,  not  much  prop 
erty,  indeed,  but  that  "  n'ood  name"1  which  is  better  than  riches. 


238  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


CALVIN   JAY  KEITH. 

CALVIN  JAY  KEITH,  a  son  oi'  the  Hon.  Chapin  Keith,  late  of 
Barre,  was  born  in  Uxbridgc,  Massachusetts,  April  9,  1800,  and 
before  lie  was  a  year  old  came  with  his  father's  family  to  "Banv, 
Vermont.  At  tlie  age  of  sixteen,  having  shown  himself  a  good 
:md  industrious  scholar  in  the  English  branches  taught  in  the 
common  school  of  his  home  village,  he  commenced  fitting  for 
college  at  Randolph  Academy,  in  the  spring  of  1<S1<>.  In  181* 
he  entered  Union  College,  at  Schenectady,  X.  Y.,  and  in  1S*2^ 
was  graduated  from  that  institution,  with  a  good  reputation  for 
scholarship  and  moral  character.  IFe  then,  for  a  year  or  two. 
taught  in  the  State  of  Virginia  in  capacity  of  a  private  tutor  in 
the  iamily  of  a  Avealthy  planter  :  when  lie  returned  to  the  North, 
and  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon. 
William  Upham  in  Montpelier.  Having  completed  the  usual 
course  of  legal  studies,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  182t).  and 
commenced  practice  in  this  village.,  at  first  alone,  and  after 
wards,  for  three  or  four  years  succeeding  1880,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Upham.  In  about  1887  a  In-other  of  C.  W.  Storrs  of  Mont 
pelier  died  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  leaving  considerable  property, 
and  Mr.  Keith  was  employed  by  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  to 
go  to  St.  Louis  and  gather  up  and  settle  the  estate.  After  exe 
cuting  this  commission  to  the  advantage  and  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned,  he  returned  to  Montpelier,  riot  however  to  resume  his 
profession,  but  to  accept  the  office  of  Treasurer  in  the  Arcrmont 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  which  was  tendered  him  by  the 
Directors.  But  after  acceptably  executing  the  duties  of  this  of 
fice  a  year  or  two,  he  resigned  the  post  to  accept  another  and 


niOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  3(J 

far  more  important  commission  to  settle  an  estate  of  a  deceased 
Yermontcr  in  tlic  South.  This  was  the  estate  of  one  of  the 
brothers  Elkins,  from  Peacbam,  Vt.,  who  had  been  in  business 
as  cotton  brokers  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  The  estate  was 
found  to  be  large,  and  its  affairs  in  so  complicated  a  condition  as 
to  require  the  labor  and  attention  of  years  to  bring  to  a  close. 
For  the  next  ten  or  twelve  years,  therefore,  Mr.  Keith  took  up 
his  residence  in  New  Orleans,  and  remained  there  through  all 
but  the  hot  and  sickly  months  of  the  year,  which  he  spent  mostly 
in  Montpelier,  having  generally  brought  with  him,  at  each  annual 
return,  such  sums  of  money  as  he  had  been  able  to  collect  out  of 
the  different  investments  of  the  estate,  for  division  among  the 
Mlkins  heirs.  After  pursuing  this  course  some  ten  years,  assid 
uously  engaged  in  the  difficult,  and,  in  many  respects,  dangerous 
position,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  the  affairs  of  the  estate  mainly 
to  a  close,  except  in  the  case  of  the  large  quantity  of  Mexican 
scrip  which  was  left  on  hand,  and  which  was  considered  only  of 
doubtful  or  chance  value.  That  same  scrip,  however,  was  even 
tually  to  make  up  the  great  bulk  of  the  fortune  Mr.  Keith 
was  fortunate  enough  to  acquire  by  means  of  his  southern  trust. 
He  agreed  on  a  division  of  this  uncertain  property  between  the 
heirs  and  himself,  the  consideration  offered  to  them  being  his 
promise  to  make  no  charge  for  any  future  services.  In  a  year 
or  two  after  this  bargain,  the  General  Government  decided  to 
redeem  this  Mexican  scrip  :  and  Mr.  Keith,  being  fortunate 
enough  by  means  of  arguments  made  potent  by  some  of  the  ex 
isting  cabinet,  to  get  his  claims  rather  promptly  allowed,  realiz 
ed  for  his  share  of  the  venture  the  snug  sum  ef  §35,000 — which, 
with  his  previous  accumulations,  made  him  a  man  of  fortune. 
The  year  1852  was  mostly  occupied  by  Mr.  Keith  in  making 
the  tour  of  Europe,  and,  having  returned  to  Montpelier  the  fol 
lowing  year,  he  was  seized  with  what  was  supposed  to  be  a  brain 
fever,  which  terminated  fatally  on  the  23d  of  September.  1853 : 


240  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIEIL 

Mr.  Keith,  was  in  sonic  respects,  rather  a  peculiar  man — in 
nothing  more  so,   perhaps,   than   in   his  likes  and  dislikes,  and 
these  again  were  generally  as   peculiarly  manifested.      The  for 
mer  might  always  be  known  by  his  open  commendation,  and  tin* 
latter  by  his  entire  silence,  when  the   names  of  the  objects  were 
respectively  mentioned.      This  seemed  to  grow  out  of  his  consti 
tutional  sensitiveness,   which  was  often  affected  by  what  would 
have  affected  few  others,  which  he  could  not  help,  but  which  his 
natural  conscientiousness  enabled  him   so  to  correct  as  never  to 
make  the  matter  worse  by  detraction.      He  was  most  constant 
and  faithful  to   those  who  had  his  esteem  ;  while  to  those  who 
had  not,  he  manifested  only  a  negative  conduct.      But  with  1m 
few  peculiarities,   Mr.  Keith  had  many  virtues.      He  was,  in  all 
his  deal,  one  of  the  most  strictly  honest  men  in  the  world.     His 
views  of  life,  society  and  its  wants,  were  just  and  elevated,  and 
he  was  patriotic  and  liberal  in  contributing  to  the  advancement 
of  all  good  public  objects.      His  character,  indeed,  was  well  re 
flected  by  his  singular  will,  to  which  we  alluded  in  a  description 
of  our  new  Cemetery.     By  this  will  he  notices  a   whole  score  of 
such  as  had  gained  his  esteem,  by  bequests  of  valuable  keepsakes 
or  small  sums  of  money,  and  then  goes  on  to  bequeath  handsome 
sums  for  various  public  objects,   among  which  was  one  thousand 
dollars  for  a  Cemetery  for  Montpelier  village,  and  live  hundred 
dollars  for  a  library  for  its  Academy.     And  thus  he  has  identified 
his  name  with  the  public  interests  of  the  town  where  he  longest 
resided,  and  should  thus  be  remembered  among  its  benefactors. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  1>41 


HEZEKIAH  HUTCHINS  REED. 

Among  the  business  men  who  have  lived  and  died  in  Moiit- 
])elier,  and  wlio  have  made  fortunes  by  their  tact  and  enterprise, 
and  left  them  for  their  families  and  for  public  purposes,  it  is  but 
.justice  to  give  a  place  to  HE/EKIAH  HUTCHINS  REKI>. 

He  was  born  at  Hamstead,  New  Hampshire,  May  20,  1795, 
and  came  with  his  father,  Captain  Thomas  Reed,  and  family  to 
Montpelier  in  1804.  From  1804  to  about  1812  he,  for  the  great 
er  part  of  the  time,  attended  the  Academy  in  Montpelier,  and 
made  such  good  proficiency  in  all  the  branches  of  English  educa 
tion,  and  exhibited  promise  of  so  much  executive  talent,  that,  at 
the  early  age  of  sixteen,  he  was  employed,  and  successfully  ful 
filled  his  engagement,  in  teaching  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
forward  winter  district  schools  in  his  town.  Soon  after  this  he 
went  to  Fort  Atkinson,  or  French  Mills,  on  the  northern  frontier 
in  New  York,  and  became  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Mr.  Gove, 
while  the  American  Army  was  wintering  there  in  1818.  When 
the  army  retreated  southward  he  followed  it  to  Plattsburgh, 
where  it  took  its  final  stand,  and  remained  with  it  in  the  capac 
ity  of  sutler  till  the  battle  of  Plattsburgh,  September,  1814,  at 
which  he  was  present.  The  following  winter  he  taught  school  in 
Grand  Isle  County  ;  and  then  soon  after  commenced  the  study  of 
the  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Dan  Carpenter  of  Waterbury. 
In  the  spring  of  1819  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar,  and  during 
the  following  summer  he  went  west,  and  finally  settled  down  for 
the  practice  of  the  law  in  the  town  of  Troy,  Miami  County, 
Ohio,  Here  he  remained  about  five  years,  when  he  collected  in 

31 


24L}  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

his  earnings,  and  invested  the  whole  of  them  in  flour,  which  he 
put  on  board  one  of  the  so-called  fiat  loafs  of  the  Ohio,  and 
sailed  down  the  river  with  it  to  Natches,  where  he  sold  it,  and 
then  with  the  proceeds  in  his  pocket,  returned  on  horse-back 
through  Tennessee,  Kentucky. and  Pennsylvania  to  Philadelphia, 
and  then  by  other  conveyance  to  his  old  home  in  Montpelier. 
Here  he  went  immediately  into  partnership  with  his  brother, 
Thomas  Reed,  Esq.,  who  had  already  opened  a  law  oflice  in  the 
village.  This  partnership  lasted  about  twenty  years,  and  was 
attended  throughout  with  unusual  pecuniary  success.  The 
Messrs.  Reed  did  a  very  large  business,  mostly  in  collecting  and 
in  honorable  speculations,  acting  as  advocates  in  the  courts  hut 
little  more  than  in  the  management  of  their  own  cases.  They 
invested  largely  in  the  stock  of  the  first  and  second  Bank  of 
Montpelier,  and  bought  out  nearly  all  the  stock  of  the  old  Win- 
ouski  Turnpike,  which  they  eventually  sold  out  at  a  good  bargain 
to  the  Vermont  Central  Railroad  Company.  They  also  became 
extensive  land  owners  in  this  and  several  of  the  Western  States, 
and  their  purchases  of  this  character  all  turned  out,  in  the  ag 
gregate,  very  profitable  investments. 

Mr.  Reed  was  elected,  by  general  ticket,  a  member  of  our 
Council  of  Censors  in  1841,  and  in  that  office — his  first  public 
one — acquitted  himself  with  credit  to  himself  and  the  section  of 
the  State  he  was  understood  to  represent.  He  was  one  of  the 
Delegates  of  Vermont  to  the  National  Convention  which  nomi 
nated  General  Winfield  Scott  for  President,  and  was  for  many 
years  considered  as  one  of  the  most  active  and  influential  poli 
ticians  in  the  State.  In  1.851  he  was  chosen,  by  a  large  major 
ity,  as  the  Representative  of  Montpelier  in  the  Legislature  ;  and 
the  following  year  he  received  a  second  election  to  the  same  of 
lice,  and  here  also  acquitted  himself  handsomely,  and  to  the  very 
general  satisfaction  of  his  constituents.  On  the  establishment  of 
the  Vermont  Bank,  in  1849,  he  was  chosen  its  first  President, 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  243 

and  was  continuously  retained  in  the  office  to  the  day  of  his 
death . 

Mr.  Reed  was  an  unusually  stirring,  energetic  and  enterpris 
ing  business  man  ;  but  business  and  money-making  were  evidently 
not  the  only  objects  of  his  life.  He  was  ever  patriotic  and  pub 
lic  spirited,  entering  into,  and  often  leading  in,  all  enterprises 
designed  for  the  public  good  and  the  social,  religious  and  educa 
tional  interests  of  his  town,  with  his  usual  zeal  and  energy  ;  and 
was  always  quite  ready  to  help  on  all. such  movements  by  liberal 
subscriptions  in  the  way  of  pecuniary  assistance.  He  perhaps 
should  be  considered  the  foremost  in  bringing  about  our  present 
Union  School,  and  gave  one  thousand  dollars  towards  the  build 
ing  to  be  erected  on  its  establishment. 

He  died  suddenly,  and  almost  in  the  prime  of  his  life  and  en 
ergies,  of  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  while  on  a  journey  to  the 
West,  on  the  loth  of  June,  1856,  and  now  sleeps  in  our  new 
Orecn  Mount  Cemetery,  which  he  took  so  much  pride  in  planning 
and  ornamenting. 


244  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


DOCTOR  JAMBS  SPALDING. 

Doctor  JAMES  SPALDING,  who,  for  forty  years  was  a  successful 
practising  physician  of  Mpntpelier  Tillage  and  vicinity,  died  at 
his  residence,  on  the  loth  day  of  March,  1858,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years,  and  still  in  the  midst  of  his  professional  useful 
ness. 

A.  few  months  subsequent  to  his  death,  the  following  accurate 
and  deserved  sketch  and  tribute  of  his  life  and  memory  appeared 
in  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  which  we  cordially 
adopt  and  endorse,  as  doing  more  ample  justice  to  his  character 
than  we  should  be  able,  with  our  means,  to  contribute  on  the 
subject : 

Doctor  SpALDiNd  was  born  in  Sharon,  Vermont,  March  20th, 
1 702.  His  father,  Deacon  Reuben  Spalding,  was  one  of  the  ear 
liest  settlers  in  the  State,  whose  life  was  not  more  remarkable 
for  his  toils,  privations  and  energy,  as  a  pioneer  in  a  new  coun 
try,  than  for  his  unbending  integrity,  and  for  the  best  qualities 
of  the  Old  New  England  Puritanism.  James  was  the  third  son 
of  twelve  children,  all  of  whom  reached  maturity  and  were  set 
tled  in  life  with  families.  At  the  age  of  seven  years,  he  receiv 
ed  a  small  wound  in  the  knee  joint,  which  was  succeeded  by  an 
accutc  inflammation  and  suppuration,  confining  him  for  more 
than  six  months;  and  attended  with  extreme  suffering.  During 
this  sickness  Dr.  Nathan  Smith,  of  Hanover,  was  called  :  the 
knee  had  been  opened  at  several  points,  but  still  there  was  no 
improvement.  This  eminent  surgeon  discovered  matter  deeply 
seated  in  the  ham,  and  made  a  free  incision,  after  which  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  246 

It  healed,  leaving  the  kucc  partially  anchylosed,    to  recover 
from  which  required  years. 

It  was  while  confined,  that  he  entertained  the  idea  of  becom 
ing  a  physician  and  surgeon,  probably  in  consequence  of  his  es 
timation  of  Dr.  Smith,  which  was  retained  through  life.  Hence 
lie  received  from  his  companions  the  title  of  Doctor,  and  retain 
ed  it  until,  by  his  scientific  and  literary  attainments,  he  became 
justly  entitled  to  it.  His  early  advantages  were  limited,  having 
never  attended  a  high  school  or  Academy  ;  but  still  his  love  of 
study  enabled  him  to  obtain  a  good  common  school  education, 
besides  storing  his  mind  with  much  general  knowledge.  Alone 
and  without  instruction,  lie  had  acquired  that  mental  discipline 
which  so  highly  distinguished  him  in  after  life.  He  commenced 
his  studies  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  with  Dr.  Eber  Carpen 
ter,  of  Alstead,  N.  H.,  stipulating  that  the  expenses  of  his  edu 
cation  should  bo  defrayed  by  his  practising  one  year  with  the 
Doctor  after  he  had  graduated.  He  applied  himself  with  un 
common  assiduity  to  his  medical  studies,  taking,  at  the  same 
lime,  private  lessons  in  Greek  and  Latin.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
years  lie  graduated  at  the  Dartmouth  Medical  Institution,  having 
heard  the  lectures  from  those  celebrated  teachers,  Smith  and 
Perkins. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  remark,  that  while  a  student,  his 
opportunities  for  practice  were  very  extensive.  It  was  then  that 
the  Spotted  Fever  prevailed  so  generally  throughout  New  Eng 
land.  This  epidemic  was  truly  appalling  in  Alstead  and  the 
neighboring  towns.  Dr.  S.  had  an  opportunity  of  studying  the 
disease  under  its  varied  aspects,  and  brought  his  discriminating 
mind  to  the  subject,  with  all  the  candor  and  close  observation 
<>f  a  veteran  in  the  science,  and  arrived  at  the  same  conclusions 
as  to  its  pathology  and  treatment  as  others  who  had  the  best 
opportunities  for  observation,  and  stood  the  most  eminent  in  the 
profession.  His  position  was  very  embarrassing,  being  called 


246  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER, 

the  u  boy  physician,"  having  to  meet  men  renowned  in  the  pro 
fession,  for  whom  lie  entertained  an  exalted  opinion.      Modesty 
would   hardly    prevent   him  to  differ  from  them,  yet  he  had  so 
studied  this  epidemic  that  in  most  cases  his  views  and  treatment 
were  adopted. 

After  practicing  two  years  in  Alstead  with  Dr.  Carpenter,  IK; 
commenced  business  in  Clarcmont :  but  having  friends  in  Mont- 
pclier,  he  was  induced  by  their  urgent  solicitations  to  remove  to 
that  place.  Though  but  a  boy,  he  had  seen  much  practice,  and 
performed  many  surgical  operations,  and  therefore  it  required 
but  a  short  time  for  him  to  gain  general  confidence  as  a  physi 
cian,  and  more  especially  as  a  surgeon,  which  he  retained  with 
out  abatement  through  life.  His  fixed  purpose  seemed  to  be 
improvement  in  his  profession,  having  never  engaged  in  any  oth 
er  business  or  sought  any  political  preferment.  Others  may 
have  done  more,  under  other  circumstances,  yet  by  his  example, 
integrity,  industry,  communications  for  the  medical  /journals,  and 
dissertations  before  the  County  and  State  Medical  Societies,  from 
time  to  time,  it  may  with  propriety  be  said  he  added  something 
to  the  general  stock  of  knowledge  in  his  profession.  As  a  Sur 
geon  Dr.  S.  was  successful  above  most  others.  The  distinguish 
ing  trait  of  his  mind  was  a  sound  judgment,  based  upon  a  careful 
and  discriminating  examination  of  all  the  evidence  which  gave 
to  each  individual  case  its  peculiar  characteristic.  Being  well 
informed  in  books  and  in  the  general  principles  of  his  profession, 
and  having  an  extensive  intercourse  with  his  medical  brethren, 
lie  was  well  prepared  to  impart  to  others  the  results  of  his  ex- 
tensive^experience.  With  propriety  it  may  be  said  he  was  an 
original  thinker,  as  was  r.ot  only  manifested  in  his  medical  and 
surgical  practice,  but  in  other  departments  of  science.  Few  men 
had  occasion  to  change  their  opinions,  when  formed,  so  seldom 
as  Dr.  Spalding.  Others  might  have  come  to  conclusions  more 
readily,  but  when  his  opinions  were  formed,  the  evidence  on 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  247 

which  they  were  based  was  in  his  own  mind  ;  and  for  this  rea 
son  he  was  much  sought  for  in  consultations.  It  was  a  maxim 
with  him  that  tlnTe  should  be  no  guess-AVork  in  his  profession, 
and  more  especially  in  surgery.  In  consultations,  due  respect 
was  paid  to  the  opinions  of  his  prolessional  brethren,  but  still  lie 
would  suil'er  his  judgment  to  be  influenced  only  as  the  evidence 
in  the  case  affected  his  own  mind,  never  evading  responsibility, 
and  always  governed  by  his  own  independent  conclusions. 

Dr.  Spalding  retained  through  life  the  confidence  and  respect 
of  his  professional  brethren.  From  his  commencement  in  prac 
tice  till  his  death,  he  was  much  engaged  in  consultations. 
Though  differing  from  others^  in  his  diagnosis  and  treatment  of 
disease,  yet  he  succeeded  in  leaving  the  confidence  of  patient 
and  friends  in  the  attending  physician  unabated,  and  thus  dis 
charging  his  duty  to  his  patients  without  injury  to  the  feelings 
or  reputation  of  any  one.  It  was  a  settled  maxim  of  his  life,  that 
strict  integrity  was  the  true  and  only  policy  which  should  gov 
ern  every  man  who  desires  his  own  interest  or  that  of  others  ; 
and  therefore  he  never  sought  to  appropriate  to  himself  what 
justly  belonged  to  them. 

For  more  than  forty  years,  he  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Vermont  State  Medical  Society,  and,  through  it,  he  labored  to 
advance  the  best  interests  of  the  profession  he  so  much  loved. 
He  thus  became  acquainted  with  most  of  the  distinguished  phy 
sicians  of  the  State,  among  whom  he  had  many  personal  friends, 
hi  1819  he  was  elected  Secretary,  which  office  he  held  for  over 
twenty  years.  In  1842  ho  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  com 
mittee  to  draft  a  petition  for  a  Geological  survey  of  the  State. 
He  was  elected  Vice  President  in  1843,  Treasurer  in  1844, 
Chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  History  of  the  Society  in 
1845.  He  read  a  thesis  in  1846,  "  On  Nature  as  manifested  in 
Disease  and  Health,''  which  was  highly  commended.  He  was 
elected  President  in  1846-7-8,  and  delivered  a  dissertation  on 


248  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

Typhux  Fever  in  1848,  which  was  published  by  a  vote  of  the 
Society.  He  was  elected  a  corresponding  Secretary  in  1850, 
and  Librarian  in  1854,  which  office  lie  held  until  his  death.  He 
was  also  a  'member  of  the  Board  of  Fellows  of  the  Vermont 
Academy  of  Medicine,  besides  holding  many  offices  connected 
with  science,  literature,  temperance,  &c.  But  few  men  in  the 
country  have  seen  such  an  amount  of  disease  and  so  carefully 
observed  the  peculiarities  of  the  various  epidemics  occurring  for 
nearly  half  a  century  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  so  little  is 
left  on  record  of  his  extensive  observations  and  experience  botli 
as  a  physician  and  surgeon. 

Not  only  as  a  professional  man  would  we  lament  our  departed 
friend  :  but  as  a  Christian,  father,  citizen  and  philanthropist 
\vould  we  remember  him.  His  life  was  that  of  the  good  Samari 
tan,  a  life  of  toil,  prayer  and  sympathy  for  others.  His  princi 
ples  were  deeply  rooted  in  the  heart,  and  his  faith  manifested  by 
works.  We  love  to  contemplate  his  character,  and  hope  his 
mantle  will  fall  on  many  who  will  as  faithfully  devote  their  lives 
to  the  best  interests  of  their  fellow  beings,  and  as  highly  honor 
their  adopted  profession." 

in  1820  Dr.  Spalding  married  Miss  Eliza  Reed  of  Montpelicr, 
by  whom  he  raised  six  children,  James  R.  Spalding,  an  editor  in 
the  city  of  New  York ;  William  C.  Spalding,  a  physician  at  the 
West;  Martha  E.  Spalding,  an  estimable  young  lady  who  died 
at  about  the  age  of  eighteen  years  ;  Jane  Spalding,  George 
Spalding,  and  Isabella  Spalding.  Mrs.  Spalding,  a  woman  of 
many  virtues,  died  in  1854,  and  about  two  years  after,  Dr.  Spald 
ing  married  Mrs.  Dodd,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Wyllys  Lyman. 
of  Hartford,  Vermont,  who  died  in  1857. 

In  private  life  Dr.  Spaulding  was  a  man  of  much  amenity  of 
manners, — of  great  worth  and  purity  of  character — of  enlarged 
benevolence  and  of  high  minded  purposes  in  all  that  goes  to  make 
the  enlightened  Christian  and  «;ood  citizen, 


BIGG R  A PH 10 A  L  SK ETC H  K.-i.  '24  0 


COLONEL   JONATHAN  P.  MJLLER. 

While  drawing  these  personal  sketches  to  a  close,  we  hu\t- 
been  glancing  back  over  the  list ;  and  though  we  find  exhibited 
in  them  almost  every  shade  of  practical  character,  yet  not  in  OIK; 
of  them  any  thing  that  fillls  the  popular  idea  of  the  character  of 
a  hero.  But  for  the  gratification  of  those  inclining  to  regret  the 
lack  of  a  full  variety,  we  are  happy  to  present  them  a  sketch  of 
Colonel  Miller. 

JONATHAN  PKCKIIA.M  MILLER  was  born  in  Randolph,  'Vermont, 
I'Vbruary  24th,  1797.  His  father,  who  died  in  1799,  had  given 
him  to  his  uncle,  Jonathan  Peckham,  who,  dying  about  1805,  ap 
pears  to  have  commended  the  boy  to  the  care  of  Captain  John 
(irangor  of  the  same  town.  And  with  that  gentleman  he  resided 
till  1*1  •>,  when  he  went  to  Woodstock,  A"t.,  to  learn  the  tanner's 
(rude.  He  did  not  remain  long  there,  however,  before  sickness 
compelled  him  to  return  ;  and  his  illness  settling  into  protracted 
feeble  health,  he  made  Mr.  Granger's  house  his  home  for* the 
next  four  years.  But  during  this  time  the  invasion  of  Platts- 
burgh  by  the  British  occurring,  and  Captain  Libbeus  Egerton  of 
that  town  having  raised  a  company  of  volunteers  to  go  to  the 
rescue,  young  Miller,  sick  or  well,  determined  on  joining  the  ex 
pedition,  which  nevertheless  turned  out  to  be  a  bloodless  one  ; 
for  the  company  had  not  quite  time  to  reach  the  scene  of  action 
before  th e  battle  was  over,  and  the  enemy  had  beat  a  retreat ; 
when  they  all  returned  to  Randolph,  with  no  other  glory  than 
that  which  arose  from  this  good  showing  of  their  patriotic  inten 
tions,  Whether  this  incident  started  in  Miller  a  taste  for  rail! 


250  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

itaiy  affairs,  or  whether  lie  began  to  feel  that  fanning  would 
prove  too  tame  an  occupation  for  him,  is  not  Cully  kno\vn  ;  but 
certain  it  is  that,  as  early  as  1817,  lie  resolved  to  eliange  his 
mode  of  Hie.  And  accordingly  during  that  year  he  went  to 
Marblehead,  Mass.,  where  a  company  of  United  ^States  troops 
were  stationed,  arid  enlisted  as  a  common  soldier  in  the  army. 
He  continued  in  the  service  about  two  years,  being  a  part  of  the 
time  stationed  on  our  northern  frontier  :  when  his  health  again 
tailing,  he  procured  a  discharge,  and  returned  to  Randolph, 
where  he  attended  the  Academy  of  that  town,  and  soon  began 
to  lit  for  College.  After  dilligently  prosecuting  his  studies  here 
till  the  summer  of  1821,  he  entered  Dartmouth  College  ;  but,  for 
some  reason,  left  in  the  course  of  a  few  wreeks,  and  joined  a  class, 
of  like  standing  as  the  one  he  had  been  in  at  Dartmouth,  in  the 
University  of  Vermont.  At  Burlington  College  he  steadily  pur 
sued  his  studies,  advancing  with  the  rest  of  his  class,  to  almost 
the  last  year  of  the  prescribed  course  of  collegiate  requirements, 
when,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1824,  the  College  buildings  acciden 
tally  caught  lire  and  were  totally  consumed,  and  with  them  a 
portion  of  the  public  library  and  the  private  books  of  the  stu 
dents,  among  which  were  those  of  Mr.  Miller. 

^Mr.  Miller  was  now  afloat  again  ;  but  he  does  not  appear  to 
have  long  hesitated  in  making  up  his  mind  upon  a  course  of  ac 
tion  for  his  immediate  future.  The  struggles  of  (Ireece  for  lil> 

(—/i-^ 

crty  had  by  this  time  become  the  theme  of  every  American  fire 
side,  and  the  appalling  woes  her  people  were  suffering  from  the 
remorseless  cruelties  of  their  turbaried  oppressors,  had  already 
enlisted  the  sympathies  of  every  American  heart  that  could  feel 
for  anything.  As  might  be  expected  of  one  of  Miller's  warm 
and  patriotic  nature,  his  feelings  had  been  among  those  of  the 
first  to  be  aroused  at  the  recital  of  these  tales  of  outrage.  Hut. 
heretofore  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
task  before  him — the  completion  of  his  College  course.  He 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  2ol 

thought  it  hardly  worth  his  while  now,  however,  at  his  ag;e,  t«» 
rnter  a  new  College  for  this  purpose  ;  and  if  not,  his  time  was 
on  his  own  hands.  Why,  then,  should  he  not  go  to  succor  the 
oppressed,  as  well  as  other  patriotic  Americans  who  had  already 
sailed  for  Greece,  or  were  intending  shortly  to  do  so  ?  With 
l.ho  (juestion,  came  the  decision  that  he  would  go. 

He  knew  there  was  in  Boston  an  association  of  wealthy  and 
influential  gentlemen,  styled  the  Greek  Committee,  who  had  been 
selected  to  receive  and  appropriate  contributions  for  the  Greek 
cause,  by  purchasing  needed  munitions,  or  by  furnishing  the 
means  of  transit  to  those  who,  without  such  means,  were  willing 
to  volunteer  their  personal  services  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed. 
But  he  must  first  obtain  an  introduction  to  them  ;  and  for  this 
pin-pose  he  went  to  Governor  Van  Ness,  at  the  destruction  of 
whose  house  by  tire,  a  short  time  before,  lie  knew  he  had  per 
formed  an  important  and  dangerous  service  in  rescuing  valuable 
property  from  the  flames.  The  Governor,  who  never  forgot  a 
benefit,  wrote  a  letter,  not  only  of  introduction,  but  of  warm 
recommendation  of  Mr.  Miller,  to  the  Hon.  Thomas  L.  Win- 
ill  rop,  and  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  the  President  and  Secre 
tary  of  the  Greek  Association,  who,  in  their  turn,  gave  him  let 
ters  to  the  President  and  leading  members  of  the  Greek  Gov 
ernment,  at  Missolonglii,  and  furnished  him  withal  with  over 
three  hundred  dollars  in  money,  to  enable  him  to  pay  his  pa.-- 
i-age,  equip  himself  with  a  good  personal  outfit,  and  have  money 
left  for  exigencies  that  might  arise  after  he  had  reached  his  des 
tination  ;  when  he,  with  other  American  volunteers,  sailed  for 
Malta,  on  the  21st  of  August.  1$24.  After  reaching  that  place, 
arid  spending  a  few  weeks,  and  at  some  other  of  the  neighboring 
islands,  he  proceeded  to  the  fated  Missolonghi,  and  enquired  out. 
the  house,  which  Lord  Byron,  then  very  late  deceased,  had  made 
his  head  quarters,  and  which  had  been  retained  for  the  ordinary 
meetings  of  the  members  of  the  Government  of  Western  Greece. 


252  HISTORY    OF    MONTPEL1ER, 

Here  he  encountered   Dr.   Mayer,  who  was  a  root  of  the  fight 
ing  stock  of  William  Tell  of  Switzerland,  and  had,  for  several 
of  the  last  years,  been  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  useful  of 
the  European  volunteers  in   Greece.     Mr.   Miller  presented  his 
credentials  to  the  Doctor,  and  was  promised  an  early  presenta 
tion   to  members  of  the   Government.     He  was  also  invited  to 
take  up  his  quarters  in  that  house,  and  having  been  shown   a 
room  where  he  might  take   a  little  of  the  repose  lie  so   much 
needed,  he  wrapped  his  cloak  around  him,  threw  himself  down 
on  the  Hoor  and  was  soon  asleep.     Before  long,  however,  he  was 
awakened   by   the   entrance  of  a   man   already    widely   known 
through  Europe  and  America.     This  was  General  George?  Jams, 
a    son  of  Benjamin  Jarvis  of  New   York,  who  held  a  situation 
under  the    T.   S.    Government  in   Germany,  where  the  son   was 
born,  educated  and  reared  to  manhood.     He   entered  the  Greek 
service  in  1821,  and  continued  in  it  through  the  whole  of  that 
memorable  struggle,  passing  through  every  grade  of  military  of 
fice  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier  General  of  Lord   Byron's  brigade, 
and  seeing  probably  more  fighting,  and  undergoing  more  suffer 
ing  and  hardship  than  any  one  of  all  the  heroes  of  Greece.      He 
and  Mr.  Miller  appear  to  have  almost  at  once  made  the  discovery 
that  they  were   congenial  spirits  ;  and  a  mutual  friendship  and 
respect  sprang  up  between  them,  which   soon  resulted  in  Mr, 
Miller's  appointment  as  one  of  the  General's  staff  officers,  with 
the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  Greek  service. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  follow  Colonel  Miller  through  the 
various  hardships  he  endured  through  the  next  two  years  of  that 
wild  and  bloody  conflict,  nor  enumerate  those  feats  of  arms, 
which  seem  so  to  have  awakened  the  admiration  of  the  Greeks, 
and  caused  him  to  be  known  among  them  by  the  peculiar  name 
of  The  American  Dare  Devil.  Let  an  instance  or  two,  which 
we  have  had  from  his  own  lips,  serve  as  a  specimen  of  his  many 
personal  risks  and  escapes,  as  well  as  of  his  individual  daring. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH KS.  2-53 

On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  stationed  in  command  of  a  small 
hand  of  soldiers  in  a  walled  garden  a  few  miles  from  Napoli, 
lie  suddenly  discovered  the  place  to  be  surrounded  by  a  force  of 
some  thousand  Turkish  troops.  Knowing  that  the  instant  the 
weakness  of  his  band  was  discovered  they  would  all  be  sacrificed 
un  the  spot,  Col.  Miller  at  once  resolved  on  the  desperate  expe 
dient  of  a  sally  right  into  the  mouth  of  the  lion.  Accordingly, 
calling  on  his  band  to  follow  at  his  heels,  he  dashed  out  into  the 
midst  of  the  closely  investing  foe,  firing  his  girdle  full  of  pistols, 
and  slashing  about  him  with  his  sword  as  he  went,  with  such 
fury  as  to  astonish  the  Turks,  who  supposing,  of  course,  the 
garden  to  be  full  of  Greeks,  about  to  scatter  death  among  them 
from  behind  the  walls,  instantly  became  panic  struck  and  fled. 

Another  instance  of  a  similar  character  occurred  in  a  different 
part  of  the  peninsula,  when  General  Jarvis  and  Colonel  Miller, 
with  a  small  force,  being  unexpectedly  beset  by  a  large  body  of 
Turkish  cavalry,  were  wholly  cut  oil' from  their  companions,  and, 
as  their  only  chance  of  escaping  with  life,  were  compelled  to  run 
for  a  piece  of  woods  at  the  top  of  a  hill  a  fourth  of  a  mile  distant. 
Rut  this  only  resort  came  near  proving  a  fatal  one.  A  large 
squad  of  the  mounted  fiends  pursued  them,  and  were  all  within 
pistol  shot,  while  the  woods  were  yet  too  far  distant  to  be  reached 
by  them.  They  supposed  there  was  but  a  moment  more  for  them 
in  this  world  ;  but  they  resolved  that  that  moment  should  not  be 
passed  unimproved.  They  suddenly  wheeled  round,  drew  up 
their  pieces  and  fired  directly  into  the  faces  of  their  pursuers, 
who,  in  surprise  at  the  strange  act,  came  to  a  dead  halt,  and  the 
next  instant  turned  and  ned,  doubtless  believing  that  they  would 
not  take  such  a  stand,  unless  there  lay  concealed  in  the  borders 
of  the  woods  a  force  of  their  foes,  from  whom  it  was  their  wis 
dom  to  escape  while  they  could. 

The  first  of  these  instances,  we  find  in  substance  related  in 
Posts9  Visit  to  Greece  and  Constantinople  in  1827,  and  also  in 


254  HISTORY    OF    MONTPFLIER, 

Dr.  Howe**  History  of   Greece,  and  the  latter,  though  not  nam 
ed  in  history,  is  doubtless  an  equally  veritable  incident. 

Besides  the  many  personal  encounters  and  skirmishes  with  the 
foes  of  Greece,  of  the  character  of  those  just  described,  Colonel 
Miller  was  an  active  participant  in  several  important  engage 
ments,  in  which  his  gallantry  appears  to  have  attracted  favorable 
notice.  Among  these  we  find  one  liaridsomely  alluded  to  in  the 
lately  published  volume  of  "Travels  in  Greece  anil  Russia."'  by 
Bayard  Taylor,  as  follows  : 

"  At  the  end  of  the  Argive  [>lain  is  the  little  village  of  J\Ji/f:s, 
where  Ypsilanti  gained  a  zplend'ul  vici»n/  orer  Hie  troo/ts  of  Ibra 
him  Pacha,  and  Colonel  Miller  great  1 1/  distinguished  himself '* 

But  the  most  continuous,  the  hardest  and  most  important  of 
Colonel  Miller's  military  services  in  Greece,  were  in  the  terrible 
twelve  months  seige  of  the  ill-fated  Missolonghi,  one  of  the  most 
wealthy  and  populous  towns  of  the  Grecian  peninsula.  We  have 
space  only  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  character  of  this  siogc  : 
and  this  idea  will  perhaps  be  the  best  given  by  a  letter  from  f>r. 
Mayer,  of  whom  we  have  before  spoken,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
one  hundred  and  thirty  persons  perishing  in  the  last  defense  of 
the  place,  written  within  three  days  before  his  death  ;  and  in 
another  letter  from  Colonel  Miller  himself  to  Edward  Everett,  af 
ter  Missolonghi  had  fallen,  and  lie  had  escaped  with  the  rcmn.nit 
of  the  beseiged,  as  lie  has  described,  out  of  the  city,  but  not 
out  of  danger. 

Dr.  Mayer's  letter  is  as  follows  : 

"The  labors  which  we  have  undergone,  and  a  wound  1  have 
received  in  the  shoulder,  which  I  urn  in  expectation  is  one  which 
will  be  my  passport  to  eternity,  have  prevented  me  till  now  from 
bidding  you  my  last  adieus.  We  arc  reduced  to  feed  on  {he 
most  disgusting  animals,  we  arc  suffering  horribly  from  hunger 
and  thirst.  Sickness  adds  much  to  the  calamities  that  overwhelm 
us.  More  than  seventeen  hundred  and  forty  of  our  brothers  are 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  255 

dead.  More  than  one ; hundred  thousand  bombs  and  balls,  thrown 
by  the  enemy,  have  destroyed  our  bastions  and  our  houses.  We 
have  been  terribly  distressed  by  cold,  arid  we  have  suffered  great 
want  of  food.  Notwithstanding  so  many  privations,  it  is  a  great 
and  noble  spectacle  to  witness  the  aidour  and  devotedness  of  the 
garrison.  A  few  days  more,  and  these  brave  men  will  be  angelic 
spirits,  \vho  will  accuse  before  God  the  indifference  of  Christen 
dom  for  a  cause  \vhich  is  that  of  religion.  All  the  Albanians 
\vlio  deserted  from  the  standard  of  Rescind  Pacha,  have  now 
rallied  under  that  of  Ibrahim.  In  the  name  of  all  our  brave 
men,  among  whom  arc  Notha  Botzaries, Travellas,  Papodia  Mau- 
topolas,  and  myself,  whom  the  Government  has  appointed  Gen 
erals  to  a  body  of  its  troops.  I  ann<>un>-e  to  you  the  resolution, 
sworn  to  before  Heaven,  to  defend,  foot  by  foot,  the  land  of 
Missolonghi,  and  bury  ourselves,  without  listening  to  any  capitu 
lation,  under  the  ruins  of  this  city.  History  will  render  us  jus 
tice,  posterity  will  weep  over  our  misfortunes.  I  am  proud  to 
iiiink  that  the  blood  of  a  Swiss,  of  a  child  of  William  Tell,  is 
about  to  mingle  with  that  of  the  heroes  of  Greece.  May  the  re 
lation  of  the  seige  of  Missolonghi,  which  I  have  written,  survive 
me.  1  have  made  several  copies  of  it.  Cause  this  letter,  dear 

— ,  to  be  inserted  in  some  public  journal.'1 
This  beautiful  and  touching  letter  to  a  friend  lias  been  preserv 
ed  in  the  History  of  Greece.     Colonel  Miller's  letter  which  was 
also  embodied  in  tho  same  history,  is  as  follows  :— 

UN.\POLT  J>E  ROMANIA,  May  :},  18'2b'. 
KJAN  A  ii i)  EVERETT  : 

ILniorvd  and  Dear  Friend : — It  is  with  emotions  not  to  be  ex 
pressed,  that  I   now   attempt  to  give  an  account  of  the  fall  of 
Missolonghi,  and  the  heart-rending  situation  of  illfated   Greece. 
Missolonghi   fell  into  the   hands  of  the  Turks,  eight  days   since, 
after  a  gallant  defense  of  eleven  months   and  a  half.      When  we 


256  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELIER. 

take  into  consideration  the  means  of  its  defense,  and  the  over 
whelming  numbers  that  approached  it  by  sea  and  land,  there 
cannot  be  a  doubt  but  that  its  resistance  rivals  anything  of  the 
kind  either  in  ancient  or  modern  times.  The  particulars  of  its 
fall  are  enough  to  draw  tears  from  the  most  obdurate  and  un 
feeling  heart,  and  will  bring  into  action  the  energies  of  the 
Christian  world,  if  indeed  such  a  world  can  be  said  to  exist. 
Pardon  me,  my  dear  sir  ;  the  agonies  of  my  mind  cause  the  ex 
pression  ;  for  who  can  believe,  that,  in  an  age  like  this,  if  there 
are  Christians,  infidels  should  be  allowed  to  butcher  an  entire  pop 
ulation  ? 

Missolonghi  contained  over  eight  thousand  inhabitants,  at  the 
time  of  its  surrender,  or  rather  of  its  destruction.  There  were 
no  more  than  three  thousand  capable  of  bearing  arms  ;  the  res!, 
were  women  and  children.  We  were  reduced  to  the  last  extremi 
ty  for  provisions,  having  eaten  all  the  mules  and  horses,  which  were 
in  the  place,  when  the  gloomy  inhabitants  were  cheered  by  the 
arrival  of  the  Greek  fleet ;  but  alas !  the  gallant  Mianlis  found  !  In- 
Turkish  force  too  strong  for  his  little  squadron  ;  after  sustaining 
considerable  loss  in  three  attempts  to  break  through  the  Turkish 
ileet,  he  retired.  The  inhabitants  of  Missolonghi  were  now  driv 
en  to  desperation.  They  knew  of  the  unhappy  fate  of  those 
who  had  been  taken  at  Aurtolico,  and  of  the  outrages  the  Arabs 
would  commit  if  the  place  should  capitulate.  They  took  a  hor 
rid  but  glorious  resolution  of  blowing  into  the  air  their  wives, 
daughters  and  sons.  1  call  it  glorious,  because  the  women  re 
quested  it ;  and  there  was  no  possible  way  of  preventing  the 
Arabs  from  committing  outrage  upon  the  women  and  boys,  if 
they  once  should  get  them  into  their  power.  They  all  assem 
bled  at  the  old  Turkish  Seraglio.  Their  husbands  and  brothers, 
after  laying  a  train  of  powder,  embraced  them  for  the  last  time, 
then  giving  them  matches,  left  them  to  set  tire  to  the  train.  The 
men  then  prepared  themselves  for  cutting  their  way  through  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  2") 7 

Turkish  camp  sword  in  hand.     And  out  of  the   three  thousand, 
only  one  thousand  are  said  to  have  escaped. 

There  is  the  greatest  sorrow  here,  women  beating  their  breasts, 
and  asking  every  Frank  they  meet  "  it'  all  the  Christian  world 
lias  forsaken  them  ?"  I  must  close  this  hasty  scrawl ;  for  my 
heart  is  too  full  to  write  more.  1  lost  all  my  articles  of  Euro 
pean  clothing  at  Missolonghi.  But  this  is  nothing.  If  1  am 
happy  enough  to  escape  I  shall  go  to  Smyrna. 

My  regards  to  Mrs.  Everett,  I  am  thankful  it  is  not  for  her  to 
endure  the  distress  of  the  fair,  but  illfated  daughters  of  Greece, 
1  am,  dear  sir,  with  due  respect,  your  humble  servant. 

J.  P.  MILLER." 

This  was  the  last  of  all  systematic  resistance  the  poor  Greeks 
were  able  to  make  ;  and  they  remained  in  their  desolated  coun 
try,  a  subdued,  but  not  conquered  people,  till  the  Christian  na 
lions  having  been  aroused,  the  naval  victory  at  Navarino  secured 
the  independence  of  their  country.  'Hut  the  people,  in  the 
meanwhile,  were  in  a  starving  condition  ;  and  Colonel  Miller, 
after  lingering  there  till  fall,  came  here  to  the  United  States  to 
arouse  his  countrymen  to  the  work  of  contributing  for  supplying 
of  their  wants.  Arriving  here  in  November,  he  lectured  through 
most  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States  with  that  object :  but 
in  February,  1827,  while  thus  engaged,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
X.  Y.  Greek  Committee  to  the  agency  of  going  to  Greece  and 
superintending  the  distribution  among  the  suffering  inhabitants 
of  that  country  of  a  cargo  of  provisions  that  had  been  already 
collected  for  them.  He  went,  was  gone  about  a  year,  and  dis 
charged  his  duty  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  the  friends  of  Greece 
here,  as  the  proofs,  published  with  his  Journal  by  the  Harpers 
of  New  York,  after  his  return,  abundantly  make  manifest.  The 
aggregate  value  of  the  provisions  and  clothing  distributed  by 
him  in  Greece  was  over  seventy-live  thousand  dollars.  Vet  it 
was  found  to  be  well  for  the  beneiiciaries  that  he  could  act  both 


258  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

in  the  character  of  almoner  and  soldier  with  equal  efficiency. 
For,  when  he  arrived  in  Greece  he  was  beset  by  sharpers  and 
mercenary  villains  of  all  kinds,  who  insolently  demanded  por 
tions  of  his  cargo  in  despite  all  his  judicious  rules  for  distribu 
tion  ;  and  in  one  instance  a  scheme  was  laid  to  get  possession  of 
his  whole  store,  and  it  would  probably  have  been  successful,  as 
well  as  the  less  bold  attempts  of  the  kind,  but  for  the  decisive  stand 
and  personal  intrepidity  of  Col.  Miller,  who,  on  such  occasions, 
would  throw  oil  the  character  of  the  almoner  as  quick  as  the 
quaker  did  his  coat,  draw  sword  and  pistols,  and  drive  the  lying 
knaves  from  his  presence. 

Among  the  things  which  were  destined  to  become  permanent 
remembrancers  of  Colonel  Miller's  expeditious  to  Greece,  was 
the  adoption  and  education  of  a  Greek  orphan  boy,  Lucas  Milti- 
ades,  who,  after  having  received  through  his  childhood  and 
youth  from  the  Colonel  all  the  privileges  and  affectionate  care 
and  kindness  which  a  father  could  have  bestowed,  removed  West 
soon  after  reaching  his  majority.  And  Lucas  Miltiades  Miller 
has  now  become,  through  the  advantages  thus  received,  and  his 
own  capacity,  energy  and  enterprise,  one  of  the  most  respected, 
wealthy  and  influential  citizens  of  Wisconsin. 

Lucas  M.  was  the  younger  of  two  brotheis  brought  to  this 
country  by  Colonel  Miller  and  Dr.  Russ,  the  intimate  friend  of 
the  former,  and  one  of  the  most  cultivated,  noble  and  efficient  of 
all  his  compatriots  in  the  Greek  Revolution. 

Another  memento  was  what  now  should  be  considered  an  anti 
quarian  relic  of  great  interest — nothing  less  than  the  veritable 
sword  which  Lord  Byron  wore  in  his  Greek  campaign.  Lord 
Byron  gave  this  sword  to  a  young  Greek  named  Loukas,  a  Cap 
tain  in  his  legion,  who  afterwards  was  shot  dead  in  a  sortie 
from  the  Acropilis  at  Athens  ;  and  being  found  with  his  sword 
knotted  to  his  wrist,  was  carried  into  the  fortress.  When  the 
sword  and  his  clothing  were  sold  for  the  benefit  of  his  sisters  by 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES,  259 

the  English  Consul  of  Poros,  who  was  requested  to  take  charge 
of  the  effects  of  the  deceased,  Colonel  Miller,  being  present  at 
the  sale,  purchased  the  sword  and  brought  it  home  on  his  second 
return.  He  loaned  it  to  Mr.  Castanis,  a  native  Greek  lecturer, 
by  whom  it  was  carried  back  to  Greece,  and  for  a  long  time  was 
supposed  to  be  lost.  But  when,  a  few  years  since,  Colonel  Mil 
ler's  daughter,  who  in  the  meantime  had  grown  to  womanhood 
and  married  Mr.  Abijah  Keith  of  Montpelier,  visited  Greece 
with  her  husband,  and  while  there  receiving  the  Mattering  at 
tentions  of  the  many  who  called  on  her  in  manifestation  of  their 
gratitude  for  what  her  father  had  once  done  for  them,  for  their 
relatives  and  for  their  country,  she  learned  the  wereabouts  of 
Mr.  Castanis  and  this  sword,  and  soon  recovered  it.  And  being 
at  the  house  of  the  now  celebrated  George  Finlay  of  Athens, 
known  not  only  as  Lord  Byron's  early  British  associate  in  Greece, 
but  as  the  learned  antiquarian,  and  historian  of  the  different  eras 
of  Greece,  he  at  once  identified  the  sword,  and  gave  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Keith  the  following  certificate,  which  we  copy  from  the 
original  in  their  possession  : 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keith  have  just  shown  me  the  sword  which 
Colonel  Miller  purchased  at  Poros,  at  the  sale  of  the  effects  of 
Captain  Loukas : — This  sword  1  have  seen  in  Lord  Byron's 
possession,  before  he  gave  it  to  Loukas  ;  and  1  was  present  at 
Poros  when  it  was  sold. 

GEORGE  FINLAY. 

Athens,  17  January,  1858.'' 

Dr.  Russ  who  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  who  is  still 
living  in  New  York,  Avill  also  attest  to  all  the  material  facts 
above  presented. 

The  identity  of  this  sword,  which  has  an  Asiatic  inscription 
on  the  blade,  with  Byron's  initial  and  a  crown  engraved  on  the 
hilt,  is  thus  placed  beyond  a  cavil. 

Soon  after   his  second   return    from  Greece,    Colonel  Miller 


260  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER, 

came  to  Montpelier  and  took  up  his  permanent  residence,  passed 
through  a  regular  course  of  legal  studies,  was  admitted  to  the 
liar,  and  opened  a  law  office  in  the  place  in  company  with  Nicho 
las  Baylies,  Esq. 

In  June  1828,  he  married  the  daughter  of  Captain  Jonathan 
Arms,  a  capitalist.  For  the  three  years,  1880,  1881  and  1883, 
he  was  elected  the  representative  of  Berlin,  within  whoso  bor 
ders  he  was  then  residing  with  his  father-in-law,  Capt.  Arms. 
During  the  session  of  the  Legislature  of  1888,  Col.  Miller  intro 
duced  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Whereas,  slavery  and  the  slave  trade,  as  existing  in  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  are  contrary  to  the  broad  declaration  of  our 
Bill  of  Rights,  which  declares  that  liberty  is  the  inalienable 
right  of  all  men  ;  and  whereas  they  are  a  national  evil,  disgrace 
and  crime,  which  ought  to  be  abolished  ;  and  whereas  the  power 
of  legislation  for  that  District  is  with  the  Congress  ef  these  Uni 
ted  States  :  therefore, 

u  Resolved,  the  Governor  and  Council  concurring  herein,  that 
our  Senators  in  Congress  be  directed,  and  representatives  in 
Congress  be  requested,  to  use  their  endeavors  to  effect  the  abo 
lition  of  slavery  and  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia." 

This  preamble  and  resolution,  which  we  have  copied  at  large, 
not  only  because  Colonel  Miller  was  the  mover,  but  because 
they  constituted  the  first  anti-slavery  movement  in  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Vermont,  were,  after  lying  on  the  table  some  weeks,  call 
ed  up  by  Mr.  Miller,  earnestly  supported  by  him,  and, — that 
being  long  before  it  was  good  policy  for  leading  politicians  to 
support  anti-slavery  resolutions,™ opposed  by  Mr.  Foot  of  Rut 
land,  who  moved  to  dismiss  the  resolution.  The  House,  howev 
er,  refused  to  dismiss  it,  by  twenty  majority,  but  consented  to 
refer  it  to  the  next  session,  when  it  was  finally  dismissed  by  fif 
teen  majority. 

From  about  this  time,   however,  Colonel  Miller,  gave  his  al- 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  261 

most  undivided  attentions  and  sympathies  to  the  cause  of  anti- 
slavery,  lecturing  in  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  not  only  bestow 
ing  his  time  and  labors,  but  a  large  amount  of  money  for  its  ad 
vancement.  And  it  probably  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no 
man  ever  did  as  much  as  Col.  Miller,  in  building  up  the  anti- 
slavery  party  of  Vermont,  and  putting  it  on  that  onward  march 
and  steady  increase,  which  raised  it  to  a  power  that  made  it 
necessary  for  the  dominant  party,  as  a  matter  of  self-preserva 
tion,  to  adopt  its  principles  and  take  all  its  members  into  politi 
cal  fellowship. 

in  1840,  Colonel  Miller,  one  of  the  two  Vermont  delegates, 
attended  the  World's  Anti-slavery  Convention,  in  London, 
where  lie  appears  to  have  been  much  .noticed  by  Daniel  O'Con- 
nell,  Lord  Brougham,  and  other  leading  men  of  the  kingdom,  to 
whom  he  had  formerly  become  known  by  his  championship  of 
oppressed  Greece.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates  of 
this  celebrated  Convention.  And,  in  glancing  over  the  volume 
of  its  proceedings,  published  the  next  year  in  London,  we  are 
unable  to  perceive  why  his  speeches  do  not  honorably  compare 
with  the  majority  of  those  of  the  many  very  able  men  of  whom 
that  body  was  composed. 

Asa  public  speaker,  Colonel  Miller  was  oft-hand,  bold  and 
earnest,  appearing  more  solicitous  of  bringing  out  his  principles 
with  effect,  than  of  draping  his  thoughts  with  the  graces  of  ora 
tory.  And  in  his  manners  in  private  life,  he  exhibited  the  same 
characteristics  by  which  lie  was  known  in  all  his  public  actions 
-a  fearless  utterance  of  his  opinions,  and  a  straight  forward,  un 
studied  frankness,  united  with  a  soldierly  bearing,  which,  with 
the  affectedly  refined,  was  considered  as  approaching  the  borders 
of  roughness.  As  a  citizen  he  was  public  spirited,  without  vices, 
and  benevolent  to  a  proverb.  He  always  had  around  him,  half 
a  regiment  of  the  poor,  or  poor  tenants,  who  came  not  to  pay 
him  rents,  but  to  obtain  additional  favors :  and  the  fact  that  both 


262  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIER. 

these  classes  continued  to  throng  him  through  life  is  sufficient 
evidence  that  they  never  went  away  empty  handed.  He  must 
have  given  away,  during  his  residence  in  Montpelier,  in  private 
charities,  in  the  furthercnce  of  the  anti-slavery  cause,  arid  in 
aidance  of  educational  or  benevolent  institutions,  the  largest 
part  of  a  handsome  fortune,  receiving  in  return  nothing  but  the 
good  name  he  carried  to  his  grave. 

He  died  prematurely,  in  consequence  of  an  accidental  injury 
to  his  spine,  on  the  17th  day  of  February,  1847,  leaving  a  \vife 
and  one  child,  the  daughter  to  whom  we  have  before  alluded, 
Mrs.  Abijah  Keith  ;  and  he  now  sleeps  on  the  boldest  point  of 
yonder  Green  Mount  Cemetery,  beneath  the  massive,  square 
rough  granite  obelisk,  so  typical,  in  many  respects,  of  his  Roman 
virtues  and  strong  traits  of  character. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  263 


THE  HONORABLE  WILLIAM  UPHAM. 

WILLIAM  UPHAM,  son  of  Captain  Samuel  Upham,  was  born  in 
Leicester,  Massachusetts,  August  oth,  1792,  where,  while  a  resi 
dent  there,  he  received  only  the  first  rudiments  of  education, 
being  too  young  to  attend  the  academy  in  that  town.  In  1802 
his  father  and  family  removed  to  Vermont,  and  settled  on  a  farm 
near  the  Centre  of  Montpelier.  Here,  from  the  age  of  ten  to 
about  fifteen,  he  worked  on  the  farm,  only  attending  the  winter 
schools  of  the  common  school  district  in  which  he  resided  ;  when 
he  met  with  an  accident,  which,  at  that  time,  apparently  gave  a 
new  turn  to  his  destinies  for  life  : — While  engaged  about  a  cider 
mill,  his  hand  was  caught  in  the  machinery,  and  all  the  fingers  of 
the  right  hand  so  badly  crushed  that  they  had  to  be  amputated 
even  with  the  palm.  This,  unfitting  him  for  manual  labor,  led 
his  father  to  consent  to  what  had  before  been  his  wish,  the  com 
mencement  of  a  course  of  education,  preparatory  to  the  study  of 
the  law.  Accordingly  he  attended  the  old  academy,  at  Montpe 
lier,  a  few  terms,  and  then,  with  the  late  Reverend  William  Per- 
rin  of  Berlin  for  a  fellow  student,  pursued  the  study  of  Latin 
and  Greek,  about  one  year,  with  the  Reverend  James  Hobart  of 
the  last  mentioned  town.  In  1808  he  entered  the  office  of  the 
Hon.  Samuel  Prentiss,  in  Montpelier,  as  a  law  student ;  and, 
after  pursuing  his  legal  studies  there  about  three  years,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  and  soon  went  into  partnership  in  the  prac 
tice  of  the  law  with  the  Hon.  Nicholas  Baylies.  After  continu 
ing  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Baylies  a  few  years,  he  opened  an 
office  alone  in  Montpelier ;  and  from  that  time,  until  his  election 


264  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELTER. 

to  the  United  States  Senate,  he,  either  alone  or  with  temporary 
partners,  continued  in  the  constant  and  successful  practice  of  his 
profession,  the  business  of  which  was  always  more  than  ample 
enough  to  require  his  whole  time  and  attention.  For  the  lirst 
thirty  years  of  his  professional  career,  Mr.  Uphaui,  with  the  ex 
ception  of  only  one  instance,  steadily  declined  the  many  proffers 
of  his  friends  for  his  promotion  to  civil  office,  though  his  oppor 
tunities  for  holding  such  offices  included  the  chance  for  u  seat  on 
the  } tench  of  our  Supreme  Court.  The  excepted  instance  wan 
involved  in  his  consent  to  run  as  candidate  for  town  representa 
tive,  in  1827  ;  when,  though  the  majority  of  his  party  was  a  mat 
ter  of  much  doubt,  he  was  triumphantly  elected.  In  1828,  he 
was  re-elected,  and  in  1830  received  a  third  election,  serving 
through  all  the  three  terms  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  con 
stituents,  and  therein  exhibiting  talents  as  a  public  debator 
which  gave  him  a  high  position  in  the  Legislature.  In  the  pres 
idential  campaign,  1840, he,  for  the  first  time,  took  an  active  part 
in  politics,  and,  to  use  a  modern  phrase,  stumped  nearly  the 
whole  State,  making  himself  everywhere  known  to  the  people  by 
the  peculiar  traits  of  his  popular  eloquence,  and  by  doing  effi 
cient  political  service  in  favor  of  the  election  of  General  Hani- 
son.  In  1.841  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  United  States  S^n-- 
ate  ;  and  in  1847  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  distinguished 
office,  and  died,  at  Washington,  before  the  completion  of  his  last 
term,  on  the  14th  of  January  1858. 

In  his  professional  career,  to  which  the  main  energies  of  his 
life  were  devoted,  he  became  widely  known  as  one  of  the  best 
advocates  in  the  State.  He  was,  indeed,  what  might  be  called  a 
natural  lawyer,  and  the  practice  of  his  profession  seemed  to 
amount  to  almost  a  passion  with  him  ;  and,  even  in  his  youth, 
even  before  he  commenced  his  legal  studies,  he  would  often,  it 
was  said,  leap  up  from  his  dreams  in  his  bed,  and  go  to  pleading 
some  imaginary  law  case.  And,  what  he  determined  to  be,  that. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  20;") 

he  became,  one  of  the  most  successful  jury  lawyers  to  be  found 
in  any  country.  Never  hesitating  for  word,  and  fluent  almost 
beyond  example,  the  style  of  his  speaking  was  rapid,  thoroughly 
earnest,  arid  often  highly  impassioned,  and  so  magnetic  was  that 
earnestness  and  seeming  confidence  in  his  case,  and  so  skillfully 
wrought  up  were  his  arguments,  that  bad  indeed  must  have  been 
his  side  of  the.  question,  if  he  did  not  command  the  sympathies 
and  convictions  of  a  good  part,  if  not  all,  of  the  jury. 

As  a  statesman  it  ill  befits  us  to  judge  him,  while  those,  who 
spoke  by  more  authority,  and  from  better  opportunities,  have  so 
well  and  fully  done  so.  At  the  time  the  customary  resolutions, 
on  the  occasion  of  his  death,  were  introduced  in  Congress,  Sen 
ator  Foot,  in  his  obituary  address,  said  of  him  : 

"  His  impaired  health,  for  some  years  past,  has  restrained  him 
from  participating  so  generally  and  so  actively  in  the  discussions 
of  this  body,  as  his  inclination  might  otherwise  have  induced 
him  to  do,  or  his  ability  as  a  public  debater  might  perhaps  have 
demanded  of  him.  Nevertheless  his  speeches  on  several  impor 
tant  and  exciting  public  questions,  have  the  peculiar  impress  of 
his  earnestness,  his  research,  his  ability  and  his  patriotic  devo 
tion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country.  A  striking  example  is 
furnished  of  his  fidelity  to  the  trust  committed  to  him,  and  his 
constant  and  patient  attention  to  his  public  duties  here,  in  the 
fact,  which  I  had  from  his  own  mouth,  that  during  the  ten  years 
of  his  service  in  this  body,  he  never  absented  himself  from  tht^ 
City  of  Washington  for  a  single  day,  while  Congress  was  in  ses 
sion,  and  never  failed,  while  the  condition  of  his  health  would 
permit,  of  daily  occupying  his  seat  in  the  Senate." 

Senator  Seward  said  : 

14  WILLIAM  UPHAM  was  of  "Vermont  ;  a  consistanl.  exponent 
of  her  institutions.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  and  vigorous  judg 
ment,  which  acted  always  by  a  process  of  sound,  inductive  rca 
soning,  and  his  compeers  here  will  bear  witness  that  he  was 

34 


260  HISTORY    OF   MONTPELTER. 

equal  to  the  varied  and  vast  responsibilities  of  the  Senatorial 
trust.  He  was  a  plain,  unassuming,  unostentatious  man-.  He 
never  spoke  for  display,  but  always  for  conviction.  He  was  an 
honest  and  just  man.  He  had  gotten  nothing  by  fraud  or  guile  : 
and  so  he  lived  without  any  fear  of  losing  whatever  of  fortune 
or  position  he  had  attained.  No  gate  was  so  strong,  no  lock  so 
fast  and  firm,  as  the  watch  he  kept  against  the  approach  of  cor 
ruption,  or  even  undue  influence  or  persuasion.  His  national 
policy  was  the  increase  of  industry,  the  cultivation  of  peace,  and 
the  patronage  of  improvement,  lie  adopted  his  opinions  with 
out  regard  to  their  popularity,  and  never  stilled  his  convictions 
of  truth,  nor  suppressed  their  utterance,  through  any  fear  or 
favor,  or  of  faction  :  but  he  was,  on  the  contrary,  conxistant  and 
constant 

As  pilot  well  expert  in  perilous  wave, 

That  to  a  steadfast  slarre  his  course  hath  bent." 

Mr.  Upham's  best  known  speeches  in  the  Senate  are  his  speech 
on  Three  Million  BUI,  delivered  March  1,  1847;  on  The  Ten 
Regiment  Bill,  and  the  Mexican  War,  delivered  February  lf>, 
1848:  on  the  Bill  In  establish  Territorial  Governments  of  Ore 
gon-,  New  Mexico  and  California,  delivered  July  28,  1848  :  on 
the  Compromise  Bill,  delivered  July  1  and  2,1850. 

These  were  all  published  in  pamphlet  form,  as  well  as  in  all 
the  leading  political  papers  of  the  day,  and,  at  once  received  the 
stamp  of  public  approbation  as  elaborate  and  able  efforts.  But 
besides  these,  and  besides  also  the  numerous  written  and  pub 
lished  reports  he  made  during  his  Congressional  career,  as  chair 
man  of  committee  on  Revolutionary  Claim*,  on  the  Post  Office 
and  Post  Road*,  and  of  other  committees,  Mr.  Upharn  made 
many  other  speeches  on  various  subjects,  which,  though  less  ex 
tensively  circulated  perhaps,  than  those  above  enumerated,  yet 
received  almost  equal  praise  from  high  quarters.  Of  the  latter 
may  be  cited,  as  an  instance,  his  speech  in  opposition  to  the  Tar 
iff  bill  of  1846  ;  and  to  show  the  approbation  with  which  it  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  267 

received,  at  the  time,  among  distinguished  men,  we  are  permitted 
to  copy  a  characteristic  note  from  Mr.  Webster,  \vhich  was  sent 
Mr.  Upham,  the  evening  alter  the  speech  was  delivered,  and 
which,  after  his  death,  was  found  among  his  private  papers  : 

"THURSDAY  EVE.,  July  26,  18i(S. 

My  Dear  Sir:-  If  you  could  conveniently  call  at  my  house, 
at  eight  or  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  1  should  l>e  glad  to  see 
you  for  five  minutes.  1  wish  to  take  down  some  of  your  state 
ments  respecting  the  market  abroad,  for  our  wool.  Following 
in  your  track,  my  work  is  to  compare  the  value  of  the  foreign 
and  home  markets. 

Yours  truly. 

DANIEL  WEBSTKR, 

If  I  had  the  honor  of  being  a  correspondent  of  Mrs,  Upham, 
I  should  write  to  her  to  say,  that  you  had  made  an  excellent 
speech.  The  point,  of  the  duty  of  government  to  fnllfil  its 
pledges,  so  frequently  and  solemnly  made,  was  exhibited  in  a 
very  strong  light."  D.  W. 

In  his  domestic  relations,  Mr.  Upham  was  also  fortunate  and 
happy.  Near  the  close  of  the  year  1814,  he  married  Miss  Sarah 
Keyes  of  Ashford,  Connecticut.  The  fruit  of  this  union  weie 
five  children,  a  son  that  died  in  its  extreme  infancy,  William 
Keyes  Upham,  now  a  lawyer  of  talents  in  Ohio,  Charles  Carrol 
Upham,  a  purser  in  the  United  States  Navy,  Sarah  Simmer,  the 
wife  of  Mr.  George  Langdou,  of  this  village,  and  Miss  Alary 
Annett  Upham,  also  a  resident  of  Montpelier. 


268  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


MRS.  SARAH  UPHAM, 

MRS.  SARAH  UPHAM,  wife  of  the  Honorable  William  Upham, 
was  born  in  Asliford,  Connecticut,  October  10th,  1795  ;  arid,  be 
ing  a  connection  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Thomas  Brooks,  of  Mont- 
pelier,  with  whom  she  was  temporarily  residing,  she  became  ac 
quainted  with  Mr.  Uphain,  and,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen, 
united  her  destinies  with  his  for  the  journey  of  life. 

Many  a  public  man,  probably,  has  been  left  to  regret  that  he 
had  not  a  partner  who,  by  her  personal  appearance,  intelligence 
and  conversational  powers,  was  fitted  to  sustain  herself  in  the 
refined  social  circles,  into  which  his  high  positions  often  neces 
sarily  brought  him.  Not  so,  however,  witli  Mr.  Uphain.  His 
partner,  who  usually  attended  him  to  Washington,  found  no  dif 
ficulty  in  sustaining  herself  among  the  best  society  annually  con 
gregated  at  the  National  Capital.  Mrs.  Upham,  indeed,  wab 
ever,  abroad  or  at  home,  a  very  lady  like,  kindly,  vivacious,  in 
telligent  and  agreeable  woman,  and  was  deservedly  what  might 
be  called  a  popular  favorite.  And  each  successive  generation  of 
the  young  people  of  Montpelier,  especially,  were  always  greatly 
indebted  to  her  unwearied  exertions  to  promote  their  happiness, 
for  her  unexclusive  hospitalities,  and  for  the  numerous  opportu 
nities  she  gave  them  for  refining  and  improving  themselves  at  the 
frequent  pleasant  parties,  at  which,  with  the  full  approbation  of 
her  liberal  and  congenial  husband,  she  was  delighted  to  gather 
them  at  her  house. 

After  her  husband  died,  she,  though  of  a  buoyant  disposition, 
and  striving  hard  to  bear  her  loss  with  Christian  resignation,  soon 
began  visibly  to  droop,  and  on  the  8th  of  May,  1856,  followed 
him  to  the  grave. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  269 


THE  HONORABLE  JOSEPH   REED. 

JOSEPH  REED  was  a  native  of  Westford,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  was  bom  March  13,  176(3,  and  where  he  appears  to  have  re 
sided  with  his  family  till  he  was  nearly  a  dozen  years  of  age. 
He  then,  in  consequence  of  a  curious  circumstances,  which  will 
be  disclosed  in  the  following  pages,  left  Westford  and  went  to 
live  with  an  uncle  in  Plymouth,  N.  H.  Here  he  resided  about 
six  years,  receiving  only  the  advantages  of  common  schools  for 
an  education.  And  then,  at  a  little  over  the  age  of  eighteen, 
commenced  an  appenticeship  to  the  carpenter's  trade,  with  James 
Sargeant,  a  well  known  mechanic  of  Plymouth.  After  fully 
serving  out  the  term  of  his  apprenticeship,  which  brought  him  to 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  worked  one  year  for  his  master,  for 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  as  his  wages,  and  then 
continued  in  the  employments  of  his  trade  nearly  five  years  lon 
ger,  working  in  various  places  in  the  vicinity.  At  the  end  of 
this  period  he  wholly  relinquished  his  trade  as  a  means  of  liveli 
hood,  and  resolved  on  merchantile  pursuits.  And  in  pursuance 
of  this  object,  he  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  Mower  Russell,  a 
merchant  of  repute  in  the  same  town,  served  awhile,  and  settled 
in  Thetford,  Vermont,  in  1803,  opened  a  store  and  commenced 
trade.  In  June  1804  he  married  ;  but  having  no  children  by 
his  wife,  and  domestic  difficulties  occurring  which  warranted  the 
step,  he  procured  a  legal  separation  from  her  in  1811 ;  and  dur 
ing  the  following  year  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Burnap,  daugh 
ter  of  Rev.  Jacob  Burnap,  I).  D.  of  Merrimac,  N.  H.,  by  whom 
he  had  two  sons,  the  present  Charles  Reed,  and  George  W.  Reed. 
Esquires  of  Montpelier.  In  1814  Mr.  Reed  was  elected  as  the 


270  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

Town  Representative  of  Thetford  in  the  Legislature,  re-elected 
the  two  succeding  years,  and  received  live  more  elections  to  that 
office  during  the  next  seven  years.  In  1818  he  way  elected  one 
of  the  Judges  of  Orange  County  Court,  and  held  the  office  two 
years  successively.  Having  been  very  successful  in  trade  in 
Thetford  and  closed  up  business  there,  he  removed  to  Montpelier 
in  1827.  In  1830  he  was  elected  the  Judge  of  Probate  for  the 
District  of  Washington,  arid  was  retained  in  that  office  three- 
years.  In  1834  lie  was  chosen  one  of  the  Council  of  Censors  to 
revise  the  Constitution  of  the  State  ;  arid  in  18-10  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  Presidential  Electors  who  threw  the  vote  of  Vermont 
for  General  Harrison.  All  these  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  to 
gether  with  that  of  County  Treasurer  of  this  county,  which  he 
held  for  almost  the  last  thirty  years  of  his  life,  were  well  and 
ever  acceptably  filled  by  Judge  Reed  during  the  various  periods 
of  his  somewhat  eventful  but  almost  uniformly  successful  career 
both  in  private  and  public  life. 

His  second  wife,  who  shared  his  cares  and  his  fortunes  through 
nearly  the  thirty  years  which  embraced  all  the  most  active  period 
of  his  life,  and  during  which  his  fortunes  and  character  had  be 
come  established,  died,  leaving  behind  her  the  purest  and  best 
of  memories,  on  the  18th  of  March,  1840  ;  and  Judge  Reed 
next  married  her  sister,  Miss  Lucy  Burnap.  The  latter,  how 
ever,  did  not  long  survive  ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  he 
selected  a  fourth  wife,  in  the  person  of  Miss  Frances  M.  Cotton, 
daughter  of  the  lion,  John  H.  Cotton  of  Windsor,  who,  with  a 
daughter,  still  survives  him. 

Judge  Reed,  on  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  Hth  of  Feb 
ruary,  1851',  left  a  handsome  fortune,  and,  what  is  far  better,  a 
character  which  his  descendants  and  connections  may  always 
well  be  proud  to  contemplate.  Of  him,  his  personal  peculiarities 
and  general  character,  it  was  said,  in  a  tribute  from  a  discrimi 
nate  source,  which  appeared  in  one  of  our  public  journals  at  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  271 

time  of  his  death — it  was  a,s  justly  as  comprehensively  said  :— 
44  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  Old  School,  precise  and  methodical 
in  his  habits  ;  of  noble  presence  and  demeanor  ;  honest  and  sin- 
scere  in  all  his  dealings  ;  reserved  and  prudent  in  his  speech, 
sagacious  and  comprehensive  in  his  views,  of  resolute  and  un 
flinching  perseverance,  and  wise  and  ample  generosity/' 

Although  this  single  sentence  iinely  embodies  the  whole  of 
his  general  character,  yet  some  of  its  peculiar  traits  may,  per 
haps,  with  interest  and  instruction  to  the  reader,  be  more  defi 
nitely  told  and  illustrated.  Among  these  marked  traits  was, 
besides  his  general  honesty  of  purpose  and  unbending  integrity, 
his  particular  and  nice  conscientiousness.  And  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that,  during  the  latter  period  of  his  life,  lie  spent  much 
time  in  looking  over  his  actions  in  the  past  for  the  purpose  of 
recalling,  if  such  were  to  be  found,  any  of  his  individual  trans 
actions  of  so  faulty  a  nature  as  to  seem  to  require  from  him  res 
titution  or  acknowldgment.  This,  perhaps,  could  not  be  more 
forcibly  illustrated  than  by  a  relation  of  the  incidents  involved 
in  the  curious  correspondence  which  appears  in  the  biography  of 
the  Rev.  Kbene/er  Hill,  embraced  in  the  recently  published  his 
tory  of  the  town  of  Mason  in  New  Hampshire. 

The  correspondence  just  named  is  as  follows: 

"  MONTPELTER,  VT.,  Jan.  4,  1848. 
"  REV.  EBENEZER  HILL, 

"  My  Dear  Sir : — I  noticed  not  long  since  your  name  as  a 
clergyman  in  Mason,  in  a  New  Hampshire  Register.  My  object 
in  writing  to  you  is  to  ascertain  if  you  are  the  person  that  taught 
a  district  school  in  Westfoi'd  about  the  winter  1788.  Will  you 
be  so  kind  as  to  inform  mo  by  mail  ;  and  if  1  find  that  you  are 
the  same  person,  I  will  then  inform  you  of  my  object  in  asking 
for  this  information. 

16  Yours  with  great  respect, 

"JOSEPH  REED." 


272  HISTORY   OF  MONTPELIER. 

'To  this  letter  Mr.  Hill  replied  as  follows : 
"Mr.  JOSEPH  REED, 

"  Sir: — I  received  a  line  from  you  requesting  information 
whether  I  am  the  person  who  taught  a  district  school  in  West- 
ford  in  the  winter  of  1788. 

"  In  answer  to  your  question,  I  say,  I  graduated  at  Cambridge 
in  the  year  1786,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  took  the  town 
school  in  Westford  for  a  year.  This  school  1  kept  two  years, 
removing  from  one  district  to  another.  Whether  the  turn  came 
to  the  Forge,  or  Stony  Brook  district,  in  the  winter  of  1788,  I 
I  do  not  recollect.  But  of  this  I  am  sure  that  there  was  no 
school  kept  in  the  town  in  those  two  years  other  than  was  taught 
by  me ;  and  for  a  season  after  quitting  the  schools  I  remained  in 
Westford,  and  made  that  my  home  ;  so  that  I  feel  confident  that 
no  school  master  of  the  name  of  Hill  taught  a  scool  in  Westford 
but  myself. 

u  T  shall,  Sir,  with  some  degree  of  excited  curiosity,  be  waiting 
for  the  promised  information  respecting  the  inquiry. 
"  Respectfully  yours, 

"EBEN'R  HILL," 

To  this  the  following  reply  was  received  :— 

"  MONTPELIER,  Jan.  18,  1848, 
"  Rev.  EBENEZER  HILL, 

"  Dear  Sir : — Yours  of  the  10th  inst.  is  received,  in  which 
you  say  you  taught  school  in  Westford  two  years,  commencing 
in  the  autumn  of  1786.  I  am  satisfied  that  you  are  the  person  I 
have  been  anxious  to  find  for  the  last  half  century  or  more.  1 
am  the  son  of  Joshua  Reed,  living  in  the  east  part  of  the  town. 
I  attended  your  school  in  the  winter  of  1787,  and  in  the  fall  of 
the  same  year,  when  you  kept  in  the  middle  of  the  town,  also 
the  winter  school  of  1788,  when  you  kept  in  the  district  where 
my  father  resided.  Cols,  Wright  and  Osgood  lived  in  the  same 
district.  I  think  you  boarded  with  Capt,  Peletiah,  or  Capt. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  2??> 

Thomas  Fletcher,  both  winters.  All  passed  pleasantly  till  the 
last  week  in  February,  when  for  some  trilling  fault  in — say  whis 
pering — being  then  only  eleven  years  old,  you  called  me  up,  and 
ordered  me  to  stand  out  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  about  an  hour 
before  the  school  closed  in  the  afternoon,  and  let  me  stand  there, 
without  my  reading  or  spelling,  until  the  school  closed  for  the 
day,  and  without  your  saying  a  word  to  me,  which  I  considered 
a  great  insult.  I  therefore  remained  until  you  and  the  scholars 
had  retired,  except  a  young  man  (Levi  Wright)  who  was  to 
take  care  of  the  house.  1  then,  thought  of  revenge,  &c.,  and 
collected  your  books,  inkstand  and  ruler  with  intent  to  burn  them 
up;  but  before  I  could  effect  the  object,  Levi  Wright  discovered 
what  I  was  doing  and  interfered,  and  saved  all  except  the  ink 
stand,  ruler  and  a  small  book  or  two,  say  to  the  value  of  from 
three  to  six  shillings  worth.  Wright  told  me  1  should  be  whip 
ped  to  death  the  next  day,  which  brought  me  to  my  senses.  I 
then  resolved  to  leave  the  country.  1  had  an  uncle  visiting  at 
my  father's,  who  lived  in  Plymouth,  N.  H.  I  resolved  to  go 
home  with  him,  to  get  rid  of  punishment ;  and  finally  persuaded 
my  father  to  let  me  go,  though  he  would  riot  if  he  had  known 
the  reason,  and  I  was  oft'  in  a  day  or  two  :  so  I  escaped  the  pun 
ishment  1  so  richly  deserved,  without  niy  parents  knowing  my 
crime ;  and  I  never  returned  to  reside  in  the  town.  I  have  ever 
regretted  my  fault  and  error,  and  have  intended,  if  ever  I  could 
see  you  or  learn  your  place  of  residence,  to  make  an  apology 
and  satisfaction,  though  perhaps  you  have  long  since  forgotten 
the  transaction.  I  now,  sir,  inclose  to  you  five  dollars,  to  pay 
debt  and  interest,  which  I  hope  you  will  receive  with  the  same 
kind  feelings  which  I  have  in  sending  it  to  you  ;  and  wish  you  to 
consider  my  extreme  youth  when  the  error  was  committed.  * 
"  Respectfully  yours,  with  my  best  wishes  for  your  health  and 

happiness. 

"  JOSEPH  REED." 

35 


274  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

This  letter  from  Judge  Reed  needs  no  comment,  except  to  say 
that,  as  might  have  been  expected,  it  promptly  brought  from  the 
Reverened  gentleman  a  glowing  response,  claiming  that  the  trans 
action  had  entirely  passed  out  of  his  memory,  rejecting  all  idea 
of  indebtedness  on  the  part  of  the  donor,  but  accepting  the  gift 
as  a  token  of  friendship  ;  and  then  indulging  in  reflections  on 
the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence  in  making  the  destinies  of 
his  creatures  sometimes  turn  on  the  seemingly  most  insignificant 
circumstances. 

But  the  feature  of  the  life  and  character  of  Judge  Reed  by 
which  he  probably  effected  the  most  extensive  good,  and  for 
which,  doubtless,  he  will  be  the  longest,  and  by  the  largest  num 
ber  of  people,  remembered,  was  that  which  was  involved  in  the 
peculiar  system  of  benevolence  he  early  adopted  for  assisting  in 
digent  but  promising  young  men  in  obtaining  an  education. 
When,  in  about  middle  life,  lie  found  he  had  accumulated  a  prop 
erty  which  afforded  a  yearly  surplus  over  the  economical  support 
of  his  family,  and  the  probable  expense  of  educating  his  chil 
dren,  he,  as  he  once  told  a  friend,  began  to  feel  it  his  duty  to 
bestow  at  least  a  good  portion  of  that  surplus  on  objects  calcu 
lated  for  public  good.  And  distrusting  the  wisdom  of  many  of 
the  schemes  of  benevolence  in  vogue,  on  which  others  were  bo- 
stowing  their  charities,  he  for  some  time  cast  about  him  for  a 
system  by  which  to  bestow  his  money  so  that  it  might  conduce 
to  the  most  benefit  to  individuals,  and  through  them  to  society  at 
large.  And  he  soon  settled  on  the  system  above  named,  which 
was  loaning  to  any  poor  young  man,  showing  promise  of  useful 
ness,  such  sums  of  money  as  he  should  need  tocarry  him  through 
College,  without  requiring  any  security  for  the  payment  of  the 
amounts  advanced,  and  leaving  the  payment  a  wholly  voluntary 
matter  with  the  beneficiary.  And  having  made  known  his  inten 
tions,  and  finding  no  lack  of  applications,  he  at  once  put  his  sys 
tem  in  practice,  and  nobly  persevered  in  keeping  it  up  to  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  275 

last  year  of  his  life,  and  till  the  number  of  young  men  educated 
through  his  means  amounted  to  more  than  twenty,  among  whom 
are  to  be  found  some  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  country, 
ornamenting  the  learned  professions,  or  adding  dignity  to  the 
official  positions  to  which  their  merits  have  raised  them. 

Other  wealthy  men  may  have  been  as  benevolent,  others  as 
patriotic  in  bestowing  money  for  temporary  purposes,  but  how 
few  can  boast  of  having  originated,  arid  so  persistently  maintained, 
through  all  the  vicisitudes  and  changes  of  feelings  and  views  in 
cident  to  the  human  heart,  during  the  period  of  an  ordinary  life 
time,  a  system  of  benevolence  so  Aviso  and  noble  in  conception, 
and  of  such  wide  spread,  happy  influences  in  the  execution,  as 
must  have  iiowed  from  the  remarkable  one  which  stands  associ 
ated  with  the  memory  of  the  late  Joseph  Reed.  The  benefits  he 
lias  thus  conferred  are  of  scarcely  possible  computation,  for  they 
are  self-multiplying,  and,  only  beginning  with  the  lirst  set  of 
beneficiaries,  go  on  extending  themselves  through  generations  of 
descendants,  till  hundreds  and  thousands  become  in  some  way  or 
other  the  recipients  of  the  original  bounty,  and  society  around 
them  becomes  proportionally  enlightened  and  elevated  by  the 
ever  expanding  benelicence. 


276  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER, 


THE  HONORABLE  SAMUEL  PRENTTSS. 

SAMUEL  PRENTISS,  though  at  an  early  age  he  became  an 
adopted  son  of  Vermont,  was  yet  a  native  of  Stonington,  Con 
necticut,  where  he  was  born  March  31st,  1782.  His  family,  an 
old  and  honorable  one,  is  of  a  pure  English  and  Puritan  stock, 
traceable  as  far  back  in  England,  as  A.  P.  1318,  through  official 
records,  which  also  show  the  reputable  positions  occupied  by  the 
succeeding  branches  of  the  family,  till  they  came  to  New-Eng 
land,  where  the  lineage  at  once  took  stand  among  the  best  in  the 
colonies.  In  direct  descent  he  was  the  sixth  from  his  first  Amer 
ican,  but  English  born  ancestor.  Captain  Thomas  Prentiss,  who 
was  born,  in  England  about  1620,  became  a  resident  of  Newton, 
Massachusetts,  1752,  was  a  noted  cavalry  officer  in  the  King 
Philip  war,  and  died  1710,  leaving 

Thomas  Prentiss,  Jr.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  36.  leaving  a  son, 

Samuel  Prcnlis*,  Is/,  who  removed,  in  about  1710.  to  Stoning 
ton,  and  died  leaving 

tiamuel  PrenlisZ)  2<7,  who  was  a  Colonel  in  the  Revolutionary 
army,  and  died  leaving 

Samuel  Prentiss  ^  3<7,  who  was  a  physician  and  surgeon  in  the 
army,  and  the  father  of 

liamucl  PrentisX)  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Though  the  whole  family  stock  of  the  Prentisscs  was  good, 
yet  the  branch  we  have  been  tracing  appears  to  have  been  par 
ticularly  so,  both  physically  and  intellectually  :  Colonel  Pren 
tiss  of  Revolutionary  memory,  six  feet  high  and  weighing  over 
two  hundred  pounds,  without  corpulency,  was  one  of  the  best 
built  and  most  muscular  men  of  the  times  ;  and  the  different 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  277 

members  of  the  family  descending  from  him,  for  the  last  two  or 
three  generations,  of  which  those  now  living  have  been  cogniz 
ant,  will  be  remembered  to  have  been,  with  a  more  than  ordinary 
uniformity,  well  formed,  shapely  and  good  looking,  while  they 
have  been  very  generally  noted  as  possessing,  also,  an  unusual 
share  of  intellectual  capacity  and  power. 

When  the  subject  of  the  following  sketch  was  about  a  year- 
old,  he  removed  with  his  family  from  Stonnington,  Connecticut, 
to  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  from  thence,  in  about  three 
years  more  to  Northlield,  on  the  Connecticut,  in  the  same  state, 
where  his  father,  Dr.  Prentiss,  continued  ever  after  to  reside  in 
the  successful  practice  of  his  profession  till  his  death  in  181.8. 
The  son,  in  the  meanwhile,  was  kept,  through  all  the  earlier 
part  of  his  boyhood,  at  the  common  schools  of  the  place,  where 
lie  made  such  proficiency  in  all  the  English  branches  of  educa 
tion,  that,  while  he  was  yet  young,  lie  was  put,  as  was  <]iiite  cus 
tomary  in  those  days,  upon  a  course  of  classical  studies  with  the 
Reverend  Samuel  C.  Allen,  the  minister  of  the  town.  And 
after  pursuing  this  course  a  few  years,  and  gaining,  together 
with  a  reputation  of  accurate  scholarship,  an  amount  of  literary 
and  scientific  acquirements  deemed  sufficient  to  warrant  the  step, 
he,  at  the  age  of  about  nineteen,  entered  himself  as  a  law  stu 
dent  in  the  olHcc  of  Samuel  Vose,  Esq.,  of  the  same  town,  lie 
did  not,  however,  complete  the  prescribed  course  of  legal  stud 
ies  here;  but  with  the  object  of  so  doing,  he  passed  over  into 
the  neighboring  village  of  Brattleboro',  Vermont,  entered  the 
office  of  John  AY.  Blake,  Esq.,  and  remained  there  till  .December 
1802,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  Bar,  several  months  before 
attaining  his  majority. 

In  view  of  what  Mr.  Prentiss  afterwards  became,  all  will 
readily  understand  how  well  and  discriminately  lie  studied  the 
elementary  principles  of  the  law  before  his  admission  to  the 
Bar  ;  but  few,  perhaps,  arc  aware  how  close  and  extensive,  in 


278  HISTORY   OP   MONTPELIER. 

the  meantime,  had  been  his  study  of  all  the  great  masters  of 
English  literature,  how  careful  the  cultivation  of  his  taste,  antf 
how  much  his  proficiency  in  the  formation  of  that  style,  which 
subsequently  so  peculiarly  stamped  all  his  mental  efforts,  wheth 
er  of  writing  or  speaking,  with  unvarying  strength  and  neatness 
of  expression.  We  recollect  of  having  once  met  with  a  scries 
of  literary  miscellany  written  by  him,  probably  when  he  was  a 
law  student,  published  first  in  a  newspaper  in  consecutive  num 
bers,  and  afterwards  rcpublished  by  some  one  in  pamphlet  form, 
which  were  all  alike  marked  by  neatness  of  style,  and  beauty  of 
sentiment,  and  which,  though  only  intended,  doubtless,  for  mere 
offhand  sketches,  would  have  favorably  compared  with  our  best 
magazine  literature. 

Early  in  the  year  1808,  Mr.  Frentiss  came  into  this  part  of 
the  State,  and  opened  an  office,  in  the  new,  but  promising  village 
of  Montpelier,  which  was  to  be  ever  after  his  home,  and  the 
central  point  of  the  field  of  the  splendid  professional  success 
which  he  was  destined  to  achieve. 

The  legal  attainments  of  Mr.  Frentiss,  the  genius  he  displayed 
in  developing  them,  the  skill  he  manifested  in  the  management 
of  his  cases,  and  his  peculiarly  smooth  and  happy  manner  as  a 
speaker,  appear  almost  immediately,  after  he  commenced  prac 
tice  here,  to  have  attracted  attention,  and  given  him  a  distin 
guished  place  in  the  estimation  of  all  the  people  of  the  surround 
ing  country,  as  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise.  But  he  knew 
better  than  to  repose  on  laurels  of  this  kind.  lie  knew  that  not 
to  advance  in  his  profession,  was  virtually  to  recede  ;  and  lie 
knew,  also,  that  he  could  make  no  real  progress  without  explor 
ing  the  great  field  of  jurisprudence,  within  whose  portals  he  felt 
he  had  only  just  entered,  or  in  other  words,  without  devoting 
himself  to  study, — careful,  close  and  unremitting  study.  lie 
soon,  therefore,  commenced  a  course  of  legal  research,  which, 
passing  beyond  the  applications  of  all  his  own  special  cases,  was 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  279 

as  extended  as  the  principles  of  the  law  itself,  when  regarded 
no  less  as  a  science  than  a  system  of  technicalities.  Arid  this 
course,  for  the  next  twenty  years,  while  all  the  time  in  active 
employ  as  a  practitioner,  he  pursued  with  an  assiduty  and  per 
severance,  rarely  ever  witnessed  among  lawyers  who,  like  him, 
have  already  reached  the  higher  ranks  of  their  profession. 

Such  a  course  of  legal  research,  conducted  by  a  mind  of  the 
nice    discrimination  and  power  of  analysis,  which  characterized 
that  of  Mr.  Frentiss,  could  not  long  remain  unattended  by  fruits 
made  visible  to  all,  and  especially  appreciable  to  those  whose 
superior   intelligence  places  them  in   control  of  public  affairs. 
And  accordingly,  we    find  the  Legislature  of  his  State,  as  early 
as  182*2,  proffering  him,  with  singular  unanimity,  a   seat  as  one 
of  the    associate  justices,    on  the  1  tench  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
This  honor,  however,  he   declined.      But  during  the  years  1824 
and  1825,  he  consented  to  serve  his  town  as  their  representative 
in  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  having  been  triumphantly  elected, 
he  soon  gave,  in  that  service,  an  unmistakable  earnest  of  those 
abilities  as  a  legislator  and  a   statesman,  which  were  afterwards 
so  conspicuously    displayed    in  the  broader  field  of  the  Council 
Chamber  of  the  nation.      At  the  session  of  the   Legislature  of 
the  last  year  in  which  he  was  a  member,  he  was  elected  first  as 
sociate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court   so  unanimously,   and  with 
so  many  private  solicitations  for  his  acceptance,  that  he  did  not 
any  longer  feel  himself   at  liberty  to   decline  the  responsibility 
of  a  membership  in  our  State  tribunal.      Consequently,  he  now 
went  upon  the  bench ;    and   so   scrupulous,  and  so  ably,  did  he 
execute  all  the  duties  of  his  post,  during  the  next   four   years, 
that,  by  almost  common  consent,  he  was  elected  in  1829,  to  the 
high  and  responsible  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Vermont. 

hi  1830,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,     In  1836  he  was  re-elected,  or,  more  properly  speaking, 


280 


HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 


perhaps,  lie  was  elected  a  second  term  to  the  Senate.  And  be 
fore  his  term  of  service  had  quite  expired,  he  was  nominated  by 
the  President,  and,  without  the  usual  reference  of  his  case  to  a 
committee,  unanimously  confirmed,  as  the  Judge  of  the  United 
States1  District  Court  of  this  State,  in  place  of  the  Hon.  Elijah 
Paine  then  just  deceased.  And  this  quiet,  though  highly  respon 
sible  office,  whose  duties  were  to  be  discharged  so  near  home, 
he,  in  his  declining  health,  decidedly  preferred  to  a  seat  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  it 
was  more  than  intimated  here  from  high  quarters,  he  might  soon 
obtain.  He  therefore  accepted  the  post,  and  continued  to  hold 
it  till  his  departure  from  life  on  the  15th  of  January,  1857. 

Such  was  the  brilliant  official  career  of  the  Honorable  Samuel 
Prentiss,  who,  for  the  last  thirty-four  years  of  his  life,  never  pass 
ed  an  hour  without  bearing  the  responsibilities  of  some  impor 
tant  public  trust,  and  was  never  removed  from  one  except  to  be 
promoted  to  a  higher  one,  till  he  had  reached  the  highest  but, 
one  within  the  gift  of  the  American  people. 

As  a  Senator,  Judge  Prentiss  won  an  enviable  and  enduring 
reputation  in  a  body  embracing  almost  all  the  intellectual  giants 
in  that  highest  period  of  American  statesmanship.  Among  the 
beneficent  measures,  of  which  he  was  the  originator  and  success 
ful  advocate,  was  the  law,  still  in  force,  for  the  suppression  of 
duelling  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  His  speeches  in  support 
of  that  measure,  were  unusually  effective,  and  have  taken  rank 
among  the  best  specimens  of  senatorial  ratiocination  and  elo 
quence.  His  speech  against  the  bankrupt  law  of  1840,  was 
pronounced  by  John  C.  Calhoun  to  have  been  the  clearest  and 
most  Unanswerable  of  any,  on  a  debatable  question,  which  he- 
had  heard  for  years.  His  stand  on  this  occasion  attracted  the 
more  public  notice  from  the  fact,  that  he  had  the  independence 
to  contest  the  passage  of  the  bill,  in  opposition,  with  only  one 
exception,  to  the  whole  body  of  his  party.  And  there  can  be 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES.  281 

but  little  doubt,  that  his  argument,  which  was  felt  to  stand  btill 
unanswered,  had  much  to  do  with  the  repeal  of  that  unfortunate 
law,  a  few  years  afterwards. 

Judge  Prentiss  was  obviously  held  in  the  highest  estimation 
in  the  Senate,  alike  for  the  purity  and  worth  of  his  private,  and 
the  rare  ability  of  his  senatorial  character.  His  equal  and  con 
fidential  relations  with  Henry  Clay  and  Daniel  Webster,  were, 
at  that  day,  well  known  ;  while  his  sterling  talents  and  civic  vir 
tues  were  admitted  and  admired  by  all,  who,  as  we  were  oiteL 
told  at  the  time,  cheerfully  joined  his  more  particular  associates 
in  conceding  him  to  be  the  best  lawyer  in  the  Senate. 

It  is  in  his  character  as  a  jurist,  however,  that  Mr.  Prentiss 
will  be  longest  remembered.  It  is  perhaps  sufficient  praise  for 
him  to  say,  that  not  one  of  that  series  of  able  and  lucid  decisions, 
which  he  had  made  while  on  the  bench  of  our  Supreme  Court,  has 
ever  been  overruled  by  any  succeeding  tribunal  in  this  State,  nor, 
as  far  as  we  are  appri/ed,  by  that  of  any  other,  though  tho^ 
decisions  are,  to  this  time,  being  frequently  quoted  in  the  Courts 
of  probably  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union.  With  the  legal 
profession,  facts  of  this  kind  involve  probably  the  best  evidence 
of  high  judicial  accomplishment  which  could  possibly  be  adduc 
ed.  With  those  out  of  that  profession,  the  opinions  of  other 
great  and  learned  men  respecting  the  one  in,  question,  might  be, 
perhaps,  more  palpably  conclusive.  And  to  meet  the  under 
standings  of  both  these  classes,  therefore,  we  will  close  our  re 
marks  on  this  part  of  our  subject  by  mentioning  a  curious  legal 
coincidence,  which,  while  it  involved  an  important  decision,  was 
the  means  of  drawing  forth  a  high  compliment  from  the  lips  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  all  our  American  jurists  : 

Sometime  during  Judge  Prentiss'  Chief  Justiceship  of  thib 
State.  Sir  Charles  Bell,  of  the  Common  Bench  of  England,  made. 
in  an  important  case,  a  decision  which  was  wholly  new  law  in 
that  country  ;  and  it  was  afterwards  discovered,  when  the  re- 

-36 


282  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER. 

ports  of  the  year,  on  both  sides  of  the  water,  were  published, 
that  Judge  Prentiss  had,  not  only  in  the  same  year,  but  in  the 
same  week  or  fortnight,  made,  in  one  of  our  important  suits, 
precisely  the  same  decision,  which  was  also  then  new  law  here, 
arriving  at  his  conclusion  by  a  process  strikingly  similar  to  thai 
of  the  English  Justice.  This  remarkable  coincidence,  involving 
tho  origin  of  then  new,  but  now  well  established  points  of  law, 
and  involving,  at  the  same  time,  an  inference  so  flattering  to  our 
Chief  Justice,  at  once  attracted  the  notice  of  the  celebrated 
Chancellor  Kent  of  New  York,  who,  soon  after,  falling  in  com 
pany  with  several  of  our  most  noted  Verinonters,  cited  this  sin 
gular  instance  in  compliment  to  the  Vermont  Chief  Justice,  and 
after  remarking  that  there  was  no  possibility  that  either  the 
American  or  English  .Justice  could  be  apprised  of  the  other's 
views  on  the  point  in  <|iiestion,  wound  up  by  the  voluntary  (rid 
ute  :— 

"Judge  Story,  the  only  man  to  be  thought  of  in  the  compari 
son,  is  certainly  a  very  learned  and  able  man  ;  but  1  cannot  help 
regarding  Judge  Prentiss  as  the  best  jurist  in  New  England.1' 

Perhaps  there  is  nothing  about  which  there  is  more  miscon- 
conception  among  men  generally  than  in  what  constitutes  a  really 
great  intellect.  Most  people  are  prone  to  be  looking  for  some 
bold  and  startling  thoughts,  or  some  brilliant  or  learned  display 
of  language,  in  a  man,  to  make  good  in  him  their  preconceived 
notions  of  intellectual  greatness.  And  should  they  see  him  take 
up  a  subject  in  a  simple,  natural  manner,  analyze  it,  reject  all  the 
factitious,  retain  all  the  real,  arrange  the  elements,  and,  thus 
clearly  proceeding,  at  length  reach  the  only  just  and  safe  con 
clusion  of  which  the  case  admits,  they  would  perhaps  feel  a  sort 
of  disappointment  in  not  having  seen  any  of  the  imposing  mental 
machinery  brought  into  play,  which  they  supposed  would  be  re 
quired  to  produce  the  result.  Demagogues  might  indeed  make 
use  of  such  machinery,  but  a  truly  great  man,  never.  For  it  is 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  283 

that  very  simplicity  and  clearness  of  mental  operations  which 
can  only  make  an  intellect  efficient,  safe  and  great.  Grasp  of 
thought,  penetration  and  power  of  analysis,  arc  the  expression? 
generally  used  in  describing  a  mind  of  the  character  of  that  of 
Judge  Prcntiss.  But  they  hardly  bring  us  to  a  realization  of 
the  extremely  simple  and  natural  intellectual  process,  through 
which  he  moved  on,  self-poised,  step  by  step,  with  so  much  ease 
and  certainty  to  the  impregnable  legal  positions  where  he  was 
content  only  to  rest.  And  to  have  fully  realized  this,  we  should 
have  listened  to  one  of  his  plain  but  luminous  decisions,  on  a 
case  before  supposed  to  be  involved  in  almost  insuperable  doubts 
and  perplexities— perceived  how.  at  first,  lie  carefully  gathered 
up  all  that  could  have  any  bearing  on  the  subject  in  hand — how 
he  then  began  to  scatter  light  upon  the  seemingly  dark  and  tang 
led  mass — and  then,  how,  segregating  all  the  irrelevant  and  ex 
traneous,  and  assorting  the  rest,  he  conducted  our  minds  to  what 
at  length  we  could  not  fail  to  sec  to  be  the  truth  and  reality  of 
tho  case.  That  Judge  Frentiss  possessed,  besides  his  profound 
knowledge  of  the  law  as  a  science,  a  finely  balanced  and  superi 
or  intellect  is  unquestionable:  and  that  it  became  so,  in  the 
exercise  of  those  peculiar  traits  we  have  been  attempting  to  de 
scribe,  need,  it  appears  to  us,  to  be  scarcely  less  doubted. 

In  person,  Judge  Premiss  was  nearly  six  feet  high,  well  form 
ed,  with  an  unusually  expansive  forehead,  shapely  features,  and 
a  clear  and  pleasant  countenance,  all  made  the  more  imposing 
and  agreeable  by  the  aftablc  and  courtly  bearing  of  the  old 
school  gentleman. 

hi  his  domestic  system,  he  was  a  rigid  economist,  but  ever 
gave  liberally  whenever  the  object  commanded  his  approbation. 
Let  a  single  instance  suffice  for  illustration:  Some  years  be 
fore  his  death,  his  minister  lost  an  only  cow  :  and  the  fact  com  hip: 
to  his  ears,  he  ordered  his  man  to  drive,  the  next  morning,  one 
of  the  cows  he  then  possessed,  to  the  stable  of  the  minister. 


284  HISTORY   OF   MONTPELIER, 

But  strangely  enough,  the  cow  selected  for  the  gift  died  that 
night.  He  was  not  thus  to  be  defeated,  however,  in  his  kind 
purpose  ;  for  hearing  that  the  minister  had  engaged  a  new  cow, 
at  a  given  price,  he  at  once  sent  him  the  amount  in  money  re 
quired  to  pay  for  it. 

Judge  Prentiss  has  gone  ;  but  the  people  of  the  town  which  had 
the  honor  to  be  his  home  will  cherish  his  memory  as  long  as  they 
are  capable  of  appreciating  true  excellence,  and  be  but  too 
proud  to  tell  the  stranger  that  he  was  one  of  their  townsmen. 

At  the  October  session  of  the  United  States  District  Court, 
following  the  death  of  Judge  Prentiss,  after  a  suitable  announce 
ment  by  the  District  Attorney,  and  the  delivery  in  Court  of  elo 
quent  tributes  to  the  character  of  the  deceased,  by  the  Hon. 
•Solomon  Foot,  and  the  Hon.  David  A.  Smalley,  the  new  Judge, 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  entertained,  and 
ordered  to  be  placed  upon  the  records  of  the  Court,  as  u  an  en 
during  evidence  of  the  high  veneration  in  which  his  memory 
was  held  by  the  Bar": 

"  WHEREAS,  the  Honorable  SAMUEL  PRENTJSS,  late  Judge  of 
the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Ver 
mont,  having  departed  this  life  within  the  present  year,  and  the 
members  of  this  Bar  and  the  officers  of  this  Court  entertaining 
the  highest  veneration  for  his  memory,  the  most  profound  respect 
for  his  great  ability,  learning,  experience  and  uprightness  as  a 
Judge,  and  cherishing  for  his  many  public  and  private  virtues 
the  most  lively  and  affectionate  recollection,  therefore 

u  Resolved,  That  his  uniformly  unostentatious  and  gentlemanly 
deportment,  his  assiduous  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  his  high 
sense  of  justice,  his  unbending  integrity,  and  the  exalted  dignity 
and  purity  of  his  public  and  private  character,  furnish  the  high 
est  evidence  of  his  intrinsic  worth,  and  of  his  great  personal 
merit. 

^  Resolved,  That  the  District  Attorney,  as  Chairman  of  this 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES,  285 

meeting  of  the  Bar,  communicate  to  the  family  of  the  deceased 
a  ropy  of  these  proceedings,  with  an  assurance  of  the  sincere 
condolence  of  the  members  of  the  Bar  and  the  officers  of  this 
Court,  on  account  of  this  great  and  irreparable  bereavement. 

kk  Resolved,  That,  in  behalf  of  the  Bar  and  the  officers  of  this 
Court,  the  Honorable  the  Presiding  Judge  thereof  be,  and  he  is 
hereby,  respectfully  requested  to  order  the  foregoing  preamble 
and  resolutions  to  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  Court." 


286  HISTORY   OF    MONTPELIEE. 


MRS.  LUCRETIA    PRENTISS. 

MRS.  LUCRETIA  PRENTISS,  the  daughter  of  the  late  Edward 
Hough  ton,  Esq.,  of  Northfield,  Massachusetts,  was  horn  March 
6,  1786.  After  having  resided  with  her  father  in  that  town  till 
1804,  and  received  a  good  English  education  for  the  times,  she 
married  Samuel  Prentiss,  Esq.,  and  settled  down  with  him  for 
life  in  the  village  of  Montpclier.  Here  she  became  the  mother 
of  twelve  children — George  Hough  ton,  Samuel  Blake,  Edward 
Hougliton,  John  Holmes,  Charles  Williams,  Henry  Francis, 
Frederick  James,  Theodore,  Joseph  Addison,  Augustus,  Lucretia 
and  James  Prentiss. 

George  H.  Prentiss  died  soon   after  arriving  at  maturity  and 
settling  down  in  his  profession,  which,  like  that  of  all  the  rest  of 
the  brothers  who   reached  manhood,  was   that  of  the   law.     An 
gustus,  and  Lucretia,  the  only  daughter,  died  in  infancy. 

The  cares,  labors  and  responsibilities  of  the  wife  are  generally, 
to  a  great  extent,  mingled  with  those  of  the  husband.  Much 
less  than  usual,  however,  were  they  so  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Pren 
tiss.  In  consequence  of  the  close  occupation  of  the  time  of  her 
husband  in  his  crowding  legal  engagements  when  at  home,  and 
his  frequent  and  long  continued  absences  from  home  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  professional  or  official  duties,  almost  the  whole 
care  and  management  of  his  young  and  numerous  family  devolved 
on  her.  And  those  who  know  what  unceasing  care  and  vigilance, 
and  what  blending  of  kindness,  discretion  and  firmness,  are  re 
quired  to  restrain  and  check,  without  loss  of  influence,  and  train 
up  with  the  rightful  moral  guidance,  a  family  of  boys  of  active 
temperaments,  of  fertile  intellects  and  ambitious  dispositions,  so 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES.  287 

that  they  all  be  brought  safely  into  manhood,  will  appreciate  the 
delicacy  and  magnitude  of  her  trust,  and  be  ready  to  award  her 
the  just  meed  of  praise  for  discharging  it,  as  she  confessedly  did, 
with  such  unusual  faithfulness  and  with  such  unusual  success. 

After  a  life  of  unvarying  industry   and   usefulness,  Mrs.  Pren- 
tiss  died  at  Montpelicr,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1855,  in  the  seven 
il.elh  year  of  her  age. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  too  much  in  praise  of  the  character 
uf  this  rare  woman.  She  was  one  of  earth's  angels.  In  her 
domestic  and  social  virtues  ;  in  the  industry  that  caused  her  to 
irurk  willingly  witli  her  lumds :  in  the  law  of  kindness  that 
prompted  her  benevolence,  and  the  wisdom  that  so  judiciously 
and  impartially  dispensed  it:  together  with  all  the  other  of  those 
clustered  excellencies  that  went  to  constitute  the  character  of  the 
model  woman  of  the  'Wist  Man — in  all  these  Mrs.  Prentiss  had 
scarce  a  peer  among  us,  scarce  a  superior  anywhere.  As  already 
intimated,  she  had  done  everything  for  her  family.  And  she 
lived  to  see  her  husband  become  known  as  he  "  sat  among  the 
Klders  of  the  land,"  and  her  nine  surving  sons,  all  of  established 
characters,  and  presenting  an  aggregate  of  capacity  and  good 
repute  unequalled  perhaps  by  that  of  any  other  family  in  the 
State,  and  all,  all  praising  her  in  their  lives.  These  were  her 
works,  luit  not  all  her  works.  The  heart-works  of  the  good 
neighbor,  of  the  good  and  lowly  Christian,  and  the  hand-works 
that  looked  to  the  benefit  and  elevation  of  society  at  large,  were 
by  her  all  done,  and  all  the  better  done  for  being  performed  so 
unobtrusively,  so  cheerfully  and  so  unselfishly. 

"  Oh,  many  a  spirit  walks  the  world  unheeded, 
That,  when  its  veil  of  sadness  is  laid  down, 
Shall  soar  aloft  with  pinions  unimpeded, 
Wearing  its  glory  like  a  starry  crown, !i 


APPENDIX, 


LIST  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  FREEMEN  OF    MONTPELIKK 

WHO  VOTKD    AT  THE   ORGANIZATION  OF  THE 

TOWN,  MARCH  1791. 

Benjamin  T.  Wheeler,  John  Templeton, 

Ja'-ob  Ua\is.  Elisha  Cummins, 

D:t\iil  Person*.  Jonathan  Cutler, 

IV-urley  Davis,  Charles  McClomi. 

Kb»-ne2er  Dodge,  Isaac  Putnam. 

Solomon  Dod^e,  Nathaniel  Davis, 

Nathaniel  Peck,  /iha  Woodworth. 

D.tvid  Winy.',  Jerahmel  Bowers  Wlu-t-Kr. 

I.ejuuel  lirook.s.  Smith  Stevens, 

Clark  Stevens,  Charles  Stevens, 

Jonathan  Snow,  Edmund  Doty, 

11  Irani  Peek,  Duncan  Younsj. 

James  Hawkins,  Freeman  West. 
James  Taggart, 

Dd\id  Wing,  Jr.,  and  Lamed  Lamb,  and  perhaps  one  or  two   otlitv-;.  wt-re    ' 
wi  ttife  town;  but  for  some  reason  were  absent, 

87 


APPENDIX 


TOWN  REPRESENTATIVES,  TOWN    CLERKS  AND 
SELECTMEN   OF   MONTPELIER  FROM  ITS 
ORGANIZATION. 


DATE. 

HKPKESKNTATIVKS. 

TOWN    CLEKK.S. 

SELECTMEN. 

1791 

Jacob  Davis, 

Xiba  Woodworth, 

James  Hawkins, 
James  Taggart, 
Hiram  Peck. 

179'-' 

Jacob  Davis, 

Clark  Stevens, 

James  Hawkins, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler, 
Rufus  Wakeficld, 

179:1 

Jacob  Davis, 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

Pearley  Davis. 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler, 
llufus  Wakefield. 

179-1 

Jacob  Davis, 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

Pearley  Davis, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler, 
Barnabus  Doty, 

1796 

Jacob  Davis, 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 

Jacob  Davis, 
Barnabas  Doty, 
Jos.  Woodworth, 
A.  Nealy, 
J.  Putnam. 

17% 

Jacob  Davis. 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

Jacob  Davis, 
Elnathan  Pope, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 

1797 

David  Wing,  J  r.. 

David  Wing,  Jr. 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 
Pearley  Davis, 
'Benj.  1.  Wheeler. 

1798 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Pearley  Davis, 
Benj.  1.  Wheeler. 

1799 

Pearley  Davis. 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Pearlev  Davis, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 

1WK) 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr  , 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Pearley  Davis, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 

1S01 

David  Wing,  J  r. 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Arthur  Daggett, 
Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 

1,V)2 

Peailey  Davis, 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Pearley  Davis, 
Arthur  Daggett, 

1803 

Joseph  Woodworth, 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 

David  Wing,  Jr. 
Pearley  Davis, 
Paul  Holbrook. 

1804 

Edward  Lamb, 

David  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr,, 
Paul  Holbrook, 
Clark  Stevens. 

APPENDIX. 


291 


DATE. 

I!  K  P  RES  E  KTA'I.'  t  V  K,S  . 

TOWN    (LKRKS. 

SELECTMEN. 

18^0 

Cyrus  Ware, 

Da\id  Wing,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr.. 
Clark  Stevens, 
Joseph  Woodworth. 

1806 

Cyrus  Wart-, 

David  Win<;,  Jr., 

David  Wing,  Jr., 
Joseph  Woodworth, 
Jerahmel  B.  Whreler. 

l*r>7 

Cyrus  Ware, 

Joseph  Win»;. 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
J.  B.  Wheeler, 
Pearley  Davis. 

IK08 

Cyrus  Ware, 

Joseph  Winy, 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
J.  B.  Wheeler, 
Cyrus  Ware, 

ISO',) 

Cyrus  Ware, 

Joseph  Wing. 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
J.  B.  Wheeler, 
Cyrus  Ware. 

isio 

Joseph  Wooclworth, 

Joseph  Wing, 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
Clark  Stevens, 
James  H.  Langdon. 

isii 

Timothy  Merrill, 

Joseph  Wins;, 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
B.  I.  Wheeler, 
James  H.  Langdon. 

1812 

Timothy  Merrill. 

Joseph  Wing, 

Joseph  Woodworth, 
B.I.  Wheeler, 
/iba  Woodworth. 

1813 

Joseph  Ho  wps, 

Joseph  Win-, 

J.  B.  Wheeler, 
Jeduthun  Loomis, 
Samuel  Rich. 

1814 

Kdward  Lain!), 

J  oshua  Y.  Vail, 

Benj.  I.  Wheeler, 
Salvin  Collins, 
Joseph  Woodworth, 

1816 

.Edward  Lamb, 

Joseph  Winf.j. 

Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 
Timothy  Hubbard, 
Nathaniel  Davis. 

ifiirt 

Nahum  Kelton, 

J  o-^eph  Wing, 

Benj.  I.  Wheeler. 
Timothy  Hubbard. 
Nathaniel  Davis. 

181? 

Nahum  Kelton, 

Joseph  Wing. 

Benj.  I.  Whcolrr. 
Salvin  Collins, 
Nahum  Kelton. 

ISIS 

Nahum  Kelton. 

Joseph  Win;;, 

Benj.  I.  Wheeler 
Salvin  Collins, 
Nahum  Kelton. 

ism 

(jeo.  Worthington, 

Joseph  Wing, 

Timothy  Hubbar.i, 
Nahum  Kelton. 
Joel  Bassett. 

1820 

Nahum  Kelton, 

Joseph  Wing, 

James  II.  Langdon, 
Nahum  Kelton, 
Isaac  Putnam. 

IS'.M 

Arauuah  Waterman, 

Joseph  Wing. 

James  II.  Langdon, 
Nahum  Kelton, 
Araunah  Waterman 

ISL'2 

Arauuali  Waterman, 

Joseph  Wing, 

James  H.  Langdon, 
Joseph  Howes, 
Josiah  Wing. 

292 


APPENDIX, 


H  \  T  K  .    I!  EJ'It  F.S  F,  N  T  A  T  I  V  PS>  . 

TO  'AN    Cl.BRKS. 

HBLECTMEK, 

lN2;j     Araunah  Waterman, 

Joseph  Wing, 

Joseph  Howes, 
Pear  ley  Davis, 
Joseph  Wiggins. 

1824     Samuel  Prcntiss, 

Joseph  Wing, 

James  H.  Laugdon 
Thomas  Reed,  Jr., 
Andrew  Sibley. 

iy_o    Samuel  Prentiss, 

Joseph  Wing. 

Joseph  Howes, 
Josiah  AVing, 
Samuel  Templeton. 

1H2<>     Araunah  Waterman, 

Joseph  Wing, 

Joseph  Howes, 
Josiah  AVing, 
Nahum  Kelton. 

LS'27     William  Upham, 

Joseph  Wing, 

Joseph  Howes, 
Josiah  A\ririg, 
Nahum  Kelton. 

1S2S     William  Upham. 

Joseph  AVing, 

Joseph  Howes, 
Josiah  A\ring, 
Nahum  Kelton. 

1X29     Nahum  Kelton. 

Joseph  AVing, 

Timothy  Hubbard, 
Stephen  Foster, 
Samuel  Templeton. 

IS.'Jl)     AVilliam  Upham. 

Joseph  AVing, 

Araunah  AVatermni 
Samuel  Templeton, 
Apollos  Metcalf. 

1S;>I      Axel  Spalding. 

Joseph  AVing. 

Josiah  AVing. 
Royal  AVheeler, 
Joseph  Reed. 

)N-7_'     Axel  Spalding. 

Joseph  AVing, 

Josiah  AVing, 
Royal  AVheeler. 
Joseph  Reed. 

IMS     Azcl  Spalding. 

Joseph  Wing, 

Royal  Wheeler. 
•Tared  AVheeloek, 
Harry  Richardson. 

1S;H     AVilliam  Billings, 

Joseph  AVing. 

Royal  AVheeler, 
Harry  Richardson, 
George  Clark. 

isr>,3     William  Billings, 

Lyman  Briggs, 

Royal  AVheeler, 
Harry  Richardson, 
George  Clark. 

18156    Lucius  B.  Peck. 

Lyman  Briggs. 

Harry  Richardson. 
Isaac  Gate, 
William  Billings. 

1S37     Lucius  B.  Peck. 

Lyman  Briggs, 

Isaac  Gate, 
Lewis  Sibley, 
Alfred  Wainwright. 

1S."8    Royal  AVheelcr, 

Lyman  Briggs, 

John  Gray, 
Joel  Bassett, 
Alfred  Pitkin. 

ISM     Jloyal  AVhccler, 

Lyman  Briggs, 

R.  R.  Keith, 
Larned  Coburn, 
Cyrus  Morse. 

181')     1£.  N.  Baylies. 

Lyman  Briggs, 

It.  R.  Keith, 
Larned  Coburn, 
Cyrus  Morse, 

APPENDIX, 


298 


I».IF.  REPRESENTATIVES. 

1841  H.  N.  Baylies, 

1841'  Addison  Peck. 

IS  13  Addison  Perk. 

1841  .!.  T.  Marston, 

1S-4-3  .1.  T.  Marstou. 

IS  46  Charles  Clark, 

IH47  Charles  Clark, 

184S  H.  W.  Hcaton, 

l«i!»  .1.  A.  Vail. 

IH.SU  .1.  A.  Vail, 

ISM  H.  H.  Kccd. 

1S6'J  H.  H.  Kccd, 


TOWN    CLERKS. 

Lyman  Briggs, 
Lyman  Briggs, 
Lyman  Brigg;?, 
Lymau  Briggs, 
Lyman  Briggs, 
James  T.  Thur.ston, 
•James  T.  Thurston, 
•I  ;imcs  T.  Thurston, 
James  T.  Thurston, 
James  T.  Thurston, 


W.  W.  C'ail  well, 


JS.3:j     K.  P.  Walton.  Junior.         W.  W.  CadwclK 


ISot     Abijah  Keith, 


18-33     E.  P.  Jcwett, 


18oG    F.  F.  Merrill, 


18-37    F.  F.  Merrill, 


W.  W.  Cadwcll, 


Geo.  L.  Kinsman. 


Geo.  L.  Kinsman. 


Geo.  L.  Kinsman. 


1838    Geo.  W.  Collamer,  Geo.  L.  Kinsman, 


SELECTMEN. 

Charles  Sibley , 
Ira  S.  Town," 
•John  Vincent. 

Charles  Sibley, 
Ira  S.  Town, 
John  Vincent. 

John  Vincent, 
Thomas  Needham, 
Lot  Hathaway. 

Thomas  Needham, 
Lot  Hathaway, 
Hiram  Sibley. 

Hiram  Sibley, 
John  J.  Willard, 
Carlos  Bancroft. 

John  J.  Willard, 
Carlos  Bancroft, 
Charles  Walling. 

Charles  Walling, 
George  S.  Hubbard, 
John  G.  Putnam. 

George  S.  Hubbard. 
S.  F.  Stevens. 
Isaac  Gate. 

Thomas  Reed. 
C.  W.  Bancroft, 
S.  K.  Collins. 

C.  W.  Bancroft. 
S.  K.  Collins, 
William  Howes. 

Geo.  Worthington, 
John  Spalding, 

B.  F.  Walker. 

Joseph  Howes, 
Geo.  C.  Shepard, 
Wm.  X.  Peck. 

Joseph  Howes, 
Henry  Nutt. 
Wm.  N.  Peck. 

Wm.  N.  Peck, 
Henry  Nutt, 
John  Spalding. 

C.  W.  Bancroft, 
Charles  Reed, 
A.  W.  Wilder. 

Charles  Reed. 
Wm.  X.  Peck, 
David  W.  Wing. 

Charles  Reed, 
Wm.  X.  Peck, 
David  W.  Wing, 

Charles  Reed, 
R.  W.  Hyde, 

Kbenexer  Scribncr. 


294  APPENDIX. 

DA.TE.    RErilESKNTATlYES.  TOWN    CLERKS.  SELECTMEN. 

18-39     Geo.  W.  Collamcr,  Adams  Kellogg,  Charles  Reed, 

R.  W.  Hyde, 
Kbenezer  Scribner. 

ISO'.)     Geo.  U.  Shepard,  Adams  Kellogg,  Joseph  Poland, 

Joel  Foster, 
Jacob  Smith. 

The  first  Town  Treasurer,  Jonathan  Cutler,  elected  in  1792,  held  the  office  one  year, 
Barnabas  Doty  held  it  three  years,  to  1793  ;  Elnathan  Pope  one  year.  Joseph  Wing 
held  it  continuously  seventeen  years,  to  1814  ;  then  J.  Y.  Vail  one  year ;  then  Joseph 
Wing  seven  years,  to  1822;  then  John  Barnard  two  years;  then  Joseph  Wing  h'vr 
years,  to  1828;  then  Daniel  Baldwin  one  year;  then  II.  N.  Baylies  one  year  ;  then 
AVm.  Hutchins  two  years;  then  R.  R.  Keith  two  years,  to  1836;  then  Daniel  Baldwin 
eleven  years,  to  1847;  then  Carlos  Bancroft  two  years  ;  then  Timothy  Cross  one  year  : 
then  J.  A.  Page  six  years,  to  18o6  ;  then  R.  Richardson  to  18*39  ;  then  George  W. 
Scott,  present  incumbent. 

The  Selectmen  were  generally  made  Overseers  of  the  Poor  till  about  1840.  Since 
then  it  has  been  a  separate  appointment:  arid,  with  only  two  or  three  exceptions, 
Henry  Y.  Barns  lias  held  the  office. 


APPENDIX. 


TOWN  OFFICERS  OF  EAST  MONTPELIER   SINCE  THE 
SEPARATION  IN  1848. 


MATK.    REPRESENTATIVES. 

1M!)  Nathaniel  C.  King, 

1,V)0  Nathaniel  C.  King, 

1851  .1.  P.  W.  Vincent. 

1N-V2  J.  1'.  W.  Vincent, 

1.VJ3  James  Templeton, 

1  H.0-1  James  Templeton, 

\y.~>.~>  Stephen  I1'.  Stevens, 

lS,">r»  Stephen  F.  Stevens, 

1S.")7  I.arned  Coburn. 

l.S;>8  Earned  Coburn, 

1«;VJ  Pearley  1J.  Pitkin. 

1  SO')  Pearley  P.  Pitkin, 


TOWN    CLERKS. 

Royal  Wheeler, 
Royal  Wheeler, 
Royal  Wheeler, 
Royal  Wheeler. 

Royal  Wheeler, 

Royal  Wheeler, 
Royal  Wheeler. 
Austin  1).  Anns. 
Austin  1).  Anns, 
Austin  D.  Anns. 
Austin  D.  Ar  ins, 

Austin  ]').  Ann?1, 


SELECTMEN. 

J.  C.  Nichols, 
B.  H.  Pierce, 
Chas.  Sibley. 

J.  C.  Nichols, 
B.  H.  Pierce, 

Chas.  Sibley. 

J.  C.  Nichols, 
Jacob  Rich, 
Cyrus  Morse. 

Jacob  Rich, 
Cyrus  Morse, 
Samuel  Templeton, 

Samuel  Templeton , 
Lorenzo  Gray, 
Hazen.  Lyfortl. 

Lorenzo  Gray, 
H.  D.  Foster", 
Learned  Coburn. 

Edson  Slay  ton, 

D.  R.  Gray, 
T.  C.  Kelton. 

Edson  Slay  ton. 
H.  D.  Foster. 

E.  D.  Nye. 

E.  D.  Nye, 
Hazen  Lyford, 
M.  B.  Hamblin. 

Ilazen  Lyford, 
M.  B.  Hamblin, 
Jas.  Bennett. 

James  Bennett, 
O.  F.  Lewis, 
E.  H.  Vincent. 

O.  F.  Lewis, 
E.  H.  Vincent, 
J.  T.  Putnam. 


The  first  Town  Treasurer,  Addison  Peck,  elected  in  18-1'J,  held  the  office  three  years. 
N.  C.  King,  the  present  incumbent,  elected  in  18o2,  has  held  the  office  every  year  since. 

The  first  Overseer  of  the  Poor,  Addison  Peck,  elected  in  1819,  held  the  office  thief 
years.  Jacob  Bennett,  elected  in  18.02,  held  it  eight  years,  to  180:).  Addison  Peck  h 
the  present  incumbent  in  1800. 


296 


APPENDIX. 


LIST  OP  ATTORNIES, 

Comprising  all  the  Attornies  ever  Practicing  in  Montpeliert  Arranged  in  tin-    O;'</ 

they   Commenced. 

Charles  Bulkley,  deceased  in  1830,  J.  T.  Marston,  now  of  Wisconsin, 

Cyrus  Ware,  deceased  in  1849,  Isaac  F.  Redfield,  rernvd  &  Ch'f  Jus.  S.Ct 

Samuel  Prentiss,  deceased  in  18-57,  H.  W.  Heaton, 

Nicholas  Baylies,  removed  1836,  &  dec'ed,    John  H.  Prentiss,  now  of  Orleans  Co., 

William  Upham,  deceased  in  1853,  Charles  Reed, 

Timothy  Merrill,  deceased  in  1837,  Win.  K.  Upham,  now  of  Ohio. 

J.  Y.  Vail,  20  yrs  Co.  Cl'k,  deceased  1843,  J.  A.  Vail, 

Jeduthun  Loomis,  deceased  in  1843,  S.  Churchill,  Co.  Cl'k  183S,  not  in  practice 

James  Lynde,  removed  1818  and  deceased,  R.  S.  Bouchett,  now  of  Montreal, 


Thomas  Reed,  not  in  practice, 

Azro  Loomis,  deceased  in  1831, 

Roswell  H.  Knapp,  deceased  in  183-1, 

H.  H.  Reed,  deceased  in  18->r,. 

L  B.  Peck, 

,).  P.  Miller,  deceased  in  1847. 

1).  P.  Thompson,  not  in  practice, 

O.  II.  Smith, 

C.  J.  Keith,  deceased  in  1853, 

Azel  Sdalding,  removed  in  18.5!), 

S.  B.  Prentiss,  now  of  Ohio. 

Nicholas  Baylies,  Jr..  now  of  Mississipp 

Geo.  B.  Manser,  now  a  clergymen, 

F.  F.  Merrill,  deceased  in  1859. 


Geo.  W.  Reed,  not  now  in  practice, 

A.  W.  Tenney.  soon  removed, 
Charles  W.  Prentiss,  now  of  N.  V.  ( 
Timothy  P.  Redfield, 

Luther  Newcomb,  County  Clerk, 
Joseph  A.  Prentiss, 
Stoddard  B.  Colby. 
C.  W.  Willard, 
Win.  P.  Briggs, 

B.  F.  Fiiield. 
N.  (',.  Ferriri. 

(ieo.  W.  Bailey,  Jr., 
(,'.  .].  f  JU  ason, 


APPENDIX. 


297 


Pion:e,  Spalding,  ullage,  ivrnoved, 
Pailip  Vincent,  town,  deceased, 
hdward  Lamb,  village,  deceased, 
rf'.ephen  Peabody,  iown,  deceased, 
Jacob  P.  Vavj-^sotj,  vilhtE^,  removed. 


f,  W,  Adam-., 
Zebulon  P.  Burnham; 


LIST  OF  PRACTICING    PHYSICIANS 

'•'n  tlir    ()ntd'  thr'if  (.  '(Mil  inr.lu '('<(. 

Charles  Clark,  town  and  vill»£r, 
Daniel  Corliss,  town,  d.(  ceased, 
Milo  P.  Bimihani,  rerno-.  ed. 
Srimner  Putnam,  KaM   M.,  removed, 
• 'I'hoiuas  C.  Taplin,  Home.opathist, 
.1.  M.  firegory,  Dentist.,  removed, 
iialph  Tulboum.  Dentist,  deceased, 
M.Newton,  and  Brock^ay  &  Hawley,  D«a, 
(».  P.  1-Virbnsh.  Denti-t., 
Otrin  Smith,   villa?/-,   re  moved. 
C.  M.  Pail.ler,       •• 
K.  Paine, 

>.e,  (i.  N.  Brigh.au,   "        11., me,,  , 
C.  B.  Chandler,   " 
VV.  if.  H.  Hichara-0!i,  v.ll^c, 
James  Ternpleron,  East  M  , 
f'.,ii.  Loomis,  villa^^i  decr-ascl, 
1  .  A.  McDowell,    "       removed. 
>1,  M-  Marsh, 
C.  M.  Chandler;     " 

38 


Phineas  \\'oodhury,       •'  •• 

Nathan  b.  Spaldin^,     "  roniaved. 
Narhanie)  C.  King,  town,  Kasf  M., 
Jarnet  Spalding.     village,   deceased, 
hiea/er  Hamblin,           " 

Julius  Y.  Devvey,  •'  imt  in  practi 

benjamin  Walton .         "  removed, 

Hart  Smith,  "  deceased, 

"••eth  Field,  '•  removed, 


deceased, 
removed 


PPENDIX , 


CLERGYMEN. 

H  Kit  ft!  tit  Oil,'   i/t-fll"  Of  lllOlr. 

Congregational-~]A,*\,  Clark  brown  for  the  year  1805. — Village. 
"      Chester  Wright,  from  1808  to  1830. 
"      Samuel  Hopkins,  from  1831  to  183/i. 
11      Buel  Smith,  from  1835  to  1840. 
"      Sherman  Kelloo-g,  from  183-0  to  184'. 
••      John  Gridley,  from  1841  to  184«. 
"      Jacob  Seoley,  from  1845  to  184ti. 
"      John  M.  Stearns,  from  1839  to  1841 

Wm.  H.  Lord,  from  1846  to  1860  and  continued. 
Methodist.— John  (,.  Uow,  from  1829  to  18.°,J. 

JoelTempleton,  from  1S31  to  183:.',. 

— Sprague,  from  1833  to  1835. 

i'.  Sr-ott,  from  1830  to  1837. 
Samuel  Kelly— hill,  from  1837  to  18,'jy. 
Eleazer  Smith,  from  1839  to  1841. 
C.  R.  Harding  and  A.  0.  Smith,  from  1841   in  Irt4.'«. 
John  (',.  Dow  and  E.  .1.  Sr<>t<,  1843  to  18-1-0. 

John  G.  Dow,  K.  .].  Sr-otf ,  James  Templeton,  from   15-44  to  i64t-% 
.  1:;.  J.  Scott  and  A.  (>.  Button,  from  1846  to  1848. 
A.  Webster  and  A.  Holbrook,  from  1848  to  186  J 
E.  J.  Scott  and  1.  D.  RUSH,  18">0  to  18-01. 
S,  P.  Williams,  Schuyler  Chamberlain,  18-01  to  IKOJ 
£.  J.  Scott  and  I.  D.  Russ,  from  18-52  to  18.04. 
E,  J.  Scott  and  E.  Copeland,  from  18o4  to  I860. 
L.  J.  Scott,  F.  D.  Hememvay  and  E.  Brown,  from  Ibo6  to  iSdtf 
H.  P.  ('ushirg  and  E.  Brown,  from  1857  to  18-09. 
W.  D.  Malcolm  E.  Brown,  and  A.  Hitchcock,  from  I860 
bapttfty,-^- -Ziha  Woodworth  to  1826;   Philip  Wheeler  to  about  1834;    Zebina  Ysung 

from  1841  about  3  years. 

Episcopalians, —  tteo.  B.  Mansor  from  1843  to  1850. 
F.  W.  She.lton  from  1850  to  1851. 
Edward  F.  Putnam  from  1851  to  1854. 
P.  W.  Shelton  from  1854  to  1860  and  continued 

Utiiversaiistt-*- Paul  Dean  in  1808  ;  John  ^M.  Austin  in  1835  ;  Eli  B&ilou  ircui  leii- 
F rienda ..— Clark  Stevens  from  1815  to  1853- 


APPENDIX, 


299 


LIST  OF  MERCHANTS  AND  TRADERS, 


With 


of  Cvmmcm>»f}    Business  as  Individuals  or 


1791  Dr  Frye 
1794  Col  Joseph  Hutchinr- 
1796  Col.  J  &•  \V  Hutchin; 
1799  Hubbard  &-  Cadwell 
ISO"  AV  I  Cadwell 

Col  D  Kobbins— -East  p?.tt  to*1 /n 

Robbius  &  Freeman 
ISO?  Hubbard  &  Winy  • 

Langdon  &  Forbes 
1^7  Timothy  &  Roger  Hubb«rd 

lames  II  Langdon 

rriah  H  Or  vis 

Dunbar  <t  Bradford 
!*">*  Chester  W  Hough  ton 

Josiah  Park:- 

1809  John  Crosby—Drugs,  (fee 
J-S10  L  Q  C  Bowies,  Bookbeller,  &" 

Walton  &  Goss,  Bookseller?,  &' 

French  &  Dodge.  Shoe* 
18)1  J  F  Dodge 

Langdon  <fc  Barnard 
1813  John  Spalding 
1S14  C  Hubbard  &  J  Spaldins 

T^  Baldwin  &  Co 

\ustin  Arm> 

Emerson  &  Wilkin? 

Luther  Bugber 

Charles  Storey 
1815  Wright  &  Sibley 
1516  E  P  Walton  &  Geo  5  Walton 
Books.  &c 

French  *  Harvey,  Shoe? 


1817  Sylvester  Larabp" 

F,  P  Walton 

H  V  Barnes,  Harness  and  Sad 

cilery 
1821    John  Barnard 

Langdon  &  Spalding 

Chester  Hubbard 

Barnard  &  Button 

W  I  Cadwell  &  Son 
1«?'2  C  Hubbard  &  E  P  ,T-?>re+t 

Roger  Hubbard 
18l!3  Button  &:  Baylies 

W  W  Cadwell 
I  ft?  I   Hubbard  &  K.imb»ll 

T  M  Taylor 

Warren  Swift 

Langdon,  Spalding  ^  C-"> 

Olis  Standish 
JS'2-3  Baldwin,  Hutohins  &  n" 

Cadwell  &  Goldsbury 

Taylor  &  Prentiss 

Dodge  &  Standish,  Drugs,  *-* 

1826  Wiggins  &  Seeley 

Geo  W  Hill,  Books  *- 

1827  Luther  Cross 
Joseph  Wiggins 
Goss  &  Wiggins 

182?  Luther  Cross  &  Co 
'  Hubbard,  Jewett  &  C? 
Spalding,  Storrs  &  Co 
Baylies  &  Hutchin? 
1829  N  Harvev,  Shoe? 


300 


APPENDIX. 


1830  Baldwin  &  Frentis? 

1831  Charles  Lyman 

I  S  &  G  Town,  Jewelry,  *: 
W  W  Cad  well  al.oiu» 
H  art  &  Hiker 
T  M  &  B  II  Sm^ 
E  H  Prcntis-4 

1832  W  &  M  F  Hutchins 

1833  Emerson,  Lamb  &  Co 
Snow,  Bancroft  £  O 
Snow  £  Bancroft 
James  Pierce  •<-  r>1 
Silver  -t  Piercr 
.'itandish  D  Barnr? 

G  W  Warn 
Baldwin  *  Scot* 

1834  Jewett  ,v  Howes 
Burbauk  &  Hubbard 
Baylies  &  Hart 
Kbenezer  Colburn 

S  B  Flint,  Saddlery  *  H« 

Jtutchius  .t  AV right 

Wm  Clark,  Books.  -&-r 
1S35  H  N  Baylirs  &  Co 

Harvey  X;  Harran,  Sho«* 

John  &  Chas  Spaldins 

Silver.  Pierce  &  Co 

;Si]as  Burbank  v  Co 

Ira  Day 

Asa  Prentiss 
1*36  Jewett.  Ifowes  A-  rv 

Kmerson  &  Russell 

Baylies  *  Storrs 
1837  Bancroft  &  Riker 

C  &  L  L  Lamb 

f  Alexander 
J83S  Spalding  -t  .Fosfr 

Tvangdon  A  AVrigh< 

Town  £  AV'itherell,  Jevr*=lrT 

John  S  AVuotf 
J-S3P  Baylies  Jft  Gos< 

S  P  Ke-Jlield.  Dr-iir? 

J  T  M.ir-ton,  Bookv  Afet- 


K  P  Walton  &.  Sons,  Books  3 
1 840  Charles  Spalding 

Silver,  Lamb  &  O 

Harran  &  Dodge 
1*41   H  N  Baylies* 

Jewett  £  Howe." 

Baldwin,  Scott  £  Co 

Lymaii  £  Kin« 

J  II  Ramsddl 

Cross,  Hyde  &  Co,  Bak?r- 
1>H2  Cross,  Day  £  Co 

Benj  Day  &  Co 

French  £  Bancroft 

Kllis.  Wilder  £  r:0 

Clark  £  Collins,  Urugt* 

1843  Silas  C  French 

1844  Augustus  Haver? 

/enas  Wood,  Stoves  and  Tin 

Webb,  Bancroft,  *  Co 

J  Booth,  Hats 

Moses  &  Rich,  N  Montpelier 

J  Huntington,  K  Montpe!i?:r 

1P4"»  Z  £  C  Wood 

J  T  Marstou,  Books  £r 
Wm  T  Burnham,  Hats  &« 
Samuel  Abbott,  Jewelr^ 
N  C  King,  N  Montpc-lier 

JS46  Bancroft  £  Riker 
J  W  Howe* 
L  £  A  A  Cross 
Erastus  Hubbarrl 

1847  Harvey  King 

1848  Loomis  £  Camp 

Hyde,  Dodge  A  Co,  H^rd^-nr^ 
K  C  Holmes 

Withcrell  A  Mead,  Jeweller? 
Eastman  q  Danforth,  Books,  * 
A.  A  Sweet,  Tin  and  Stoves 
Alfred  Scott,  Hats 

1849  Keith  $  Barker 

S  K  Collin?,  Druzs 
Kedfield  fir  Grannie,  Dru?* 


APPENDIX, 


301 


1850  Scott  £  Field 
Geo  P  Riket 
Bancroft  $  Holmes 

Abbott  #  Emery,  Cabinet  Work 
.John  Wood  " 

.fames  Rowland, 

T.  M  Wood.  Clothing  and  Tailorins 
R,  R  Rikcr 

1851  Hubbard  ,y  Black,  Stovr, 
lav1  Feck  <5r  Lewis 

Ballon  cJr  Burnbani,  Book:-,  .y<- 

K  W  Hyde 

T  C  Barrow 
ISoS  Lyman  LV  Kin.u 
1^,4  Keith  ,x  Barker 

Ellis  <y  Bancrof* 

Gustavus  Hubb?.H 

Walker  &  Whi^ 

Wilder,  Scott  .v  r> 

Smith  .y  Pierre- 

T»r  B  O  Tylf-r,  Drugs 

Gco  T,  Kinsman,  TTs?t.- 

V  C  Bacon 

F'mrry  ,v  Br<>«  n,  Cro^krry  &  Fur 
nit.ure 

Wm  P  Badger.  HaH 

W  \y  Cadweil,  Hats 

Phirmey  iv  Mead,  Jeweller? 

S  M  Walton,  Book  Binden 

C  G  Eastman,  Books  and  $tation<=n 

Ballon  iV  Loveland,         " 

Wm  McCollum 
]*M  C  W  Storrs 

John  S  Barker 

H  f<  Loomis 

Peck  t\  Bail^} 

T'nion  .Store 

Fuller  $  Smith 

Jacob  Scott 

Oliver  A-  Helmer,  Hardware 

French  &  Sanborn,  Clothins 

H  B  Witt 

Fred  E  Smith.  Drugs 

Collins  A  Pierce,  " 


Keith  <y  Peck,  Leather  Dealer? 
IS-5fi  W  Corliss,  E  Montpelier 

Chas  Sibley,  N  Montpeb>-r 

Palmer  ^  Storrs 

Burbank  $  Langdon,  Flour 

Hyde  ^  Foster,  Hardware  vr 

A  C  Field,  Clothing 
1.V.7   Kllis  ,y  Hatch 

James  (T  P'rench,  Clothing 

S  C  Woolson,  Clothins;  and  Tailoring 
18-iS  .1  P  Dewey 

Storrs  A-  Fuller 

J  S  Lee,  Clothine; 

),  F  Pierce,  Dru^> 

D  Iv  Bennett,  Guns  and  Pistol? 

Mercantile  T'nion,   J  H  P  Ro^rell 
Agent 

r  X-.  S  E  Robinsoji 

Adams  Kellotjg,  Hats  and  Clothir>.2 

E  Dewry 

Finery^-  Field,  Crockery  and  Fur 
niturc 

W  ru  Storrs 

Hrrrick  \-  Page.  Sho»-.- 

A  A  Mead.  Jewelry 

T  C  Phinney      " 
I W  E  C  Lewis 

S  S  Boycc,  Book?  *' 

S  Abbott.  Jewelrv 

Field  &   Watson 

M  P  Courser 

A   L  Carlton 

.'  R  Langdon,  Flour 

•I  C  Finery,  Crockery  and  Furni 
ture 

F.  Gunnison,  Shoes 

Bailey  <t  Brother- 
Palmer  &  Stetson 

Wooster  Spragup 
1R60  Eli  Marsh 

WmB  Burbank 

J  W  Ellis  &  Co 

•'acob  Smith,  Clothins 

Demming  <t  Brook? 


302 


APPENDIX- 


THE   PUNISHMENTS  INFLICTED   FOR  THE  LIGHTEE 
CRIMES  IN  THE  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS. 

While  the  settlements  were  in  their  infancy,  and  before  there  were  any  jails  in  thi* 
part  of  the  State,  the  lighter  crimes  and  misdemeanors  were  punished  by  fines,  whip 
ping,  running  the  gauntlet,  and  other  inflictions  of  n  similar  character.  The  late- 
General  Pearler  Davis  furnished  the  Rev.  John  (Jiidley.  for  his  historical  .sermon  <-<n 
Montpelier,  published  in  18Jo,  the  following  reminiscence  of  a  case  of  this  kind  :— 

"  I  recollect,  in  the  very  early  settlement,  that  a  young  man,  not  an  inhabitant,  •' a« 
tried  for  some  petty  crime — I  think  for  stealing — at  the  tavern  house,  before  Colonel 
Jacob  Davis,  and  was  found  guilty  and  fined,  which  fine1  lie  had.  not  the  means  to  par. 
A  commutation  of  the  punishment  was  offered  him,  which  lie  accepted— -which  n-*; 
that  he  should  run  from  the  tavern  house  until  lie  crossed  the  bridge  into  Berlin,  with 
a  supple  man  to  .start  behind  him  at  a  short  distance,  with  a  whip  or  stick,  and  app'l" 
if  nil  his  back  if  he  could  come  within  reach  of  him,  and  that  he  would  never  again  re 
turn  to  Montpelier.  This  .should  be  in  full  payment  of  the  tine.  Whether  the  Jujtic^ 
had  any  hand  in  this  commutation  I  cannot  re-collect;  but  i  heard  thr  trial,  and 
-a"  the  punishment  inflicted,  with  many  others,  with  much  satisfaction." 

About  this  time,  also,  a  man,  for  some  small  crime,  was  had  up  in  the  lower  part  of 
Middlesex,  tried  by  a  Justice  or  Judge  Lynch,  and,  in  expiation  of  the  sentence  pro 
nounced,  tied  to  a  tree  and  received  a  severe  whipping  from  beech  or  birch  switches, 
in  the  hands  of  a  constable,  or  more  probably,  as  the  days  of  the  "  Beech  Seal  "  wcrr 
then  yet  fresh  in  memory,  in  the  hamh  "f  some  patriotic,  volunteer  for  this  pnblir 
service. 


APPENDIX, 


THK  ABORIGINAL  INHABITANTS  OF  WINOOSKI 
YALLEY. 

Th*:  question,  who  were  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Winooski  Valley,  together 
viir.li  other  parts  of  Western  Vermont,  or  in  other  words  what  Indian  nation  first  occu 
pied  and  owned  it,  has  never,  to  this  day,  been  fully  settled.  This  question,  it  may  be 
t/oriir"  in  mind,  has  always  been  involved  in  that  of  allowing  by  our  Legislature  the 
clam;  of  the  Caughriahwahgah  Indians,  who,  professing  to  be,  as  they  doubtless  are,  the 
only  organized  remaining  representatives  of  the  once  powerful  confederacy  of  the  Iro 
q.ioK  or  the  Six  Nations,  of  New  Vork,  have  repeatedly  petitioned  for  remuneration 
lot  the  portion  of  the  State  which  they  allege  was  formerly  owned  by  their  people,  and 
which  has  never  been  paid  for.  The  boundaries  of  the  territory  on  which  this  claim 
Las  been  made  to  rest,  have  always  been  defined  by  them  to  be  Lake  Champlain  on  the 
"West,  and  the  mountain  ranges  which  divide  the  waters  running  into  Lake  Champlaiu 
from  the Missisquoi,  the  Lamoille,  and  the  Winooski  rivers,  from  the  waters  running 
into  the  Connecticut,  with  so  much  of  the  land  drained  by  Otter  Creek  as  would  be 
embraced  in  a  line  drawn  from  Ticonderoga  to  the  sources  of  the  Winooski.  And  a! 
though  none  of  the  various  committees  or  commissioners  appointed  to  act  on  the  claim 
of  the  Iroquois,  in  any  of  the  repealed  applications  they  have  made  to  our  Legislature 
tor  remuneration  since  the  year  1708,  have  made  the  question  of  their  right  to  turn  on 
their  original  occupancy  and  ownership  of  the  land,  yet  the  alleged  fact  of  such  original 
occupancy  and  ownership,  and  the  length  of  that  occupancy,  if  they  were  not  the  origi 
nal  occupants,  ha*  been  often  questioned  in  connection  with  their  applications,  and 
»iwaye  more  or  less  discussed,  but  without  any  settlement  of  the  historical,  question, 
which  we  have  stated  to  be  involved  in  the  controversy — a  cheaper  mode  to  dispose  of 
the  claim  being  generally  resorted  to  bv  those  to  whom  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
n.i.s  been  submitted. 

1  he  question,  who  wen-  the  iir-t  Indian  inhabitants  of  Winooski  Valley,  since  » 
large  part  of  the  State  ha^  been  placed  in  the  same  category  by  this  Iroquois  claim, 
becomes  therefore  invested  with  something  more  than  of  a  mere  local  historic  interest ; 
^nd  this  circumstance  has  induced  us  to  give  the  subject  a  more  extended  investigation 
tuan  we  could  properly  introduce  into  the  body  of  this  work.  But  believing  that,  from 
ihe  connection  of  the  subject  -with  the  locality  of  our  town  history,  something  of  the 
kind  should  accompany  it,  we  have  reserved  the  discussion  for  our  appendix, 

At  the  time  when  the  French  and  Knglish  began  to  effect  lodgments  in  Canada  and 
cue  ^Northerly  parts  of  the  present  United  States,  they  found  the  country  in  possession 
«f  two  distinct,,  and  wide  spread  native  people)  speaking  two  different  languages,  which 


304  APPENDIX. 

were  varied  only,  in  each,  by  the  different  dialects  of  the  tribal  division.-,.  The.se  tvvj 
peoples  or  nations  were  the  Abenakis,  a  name  signifying  the  people  of  the  East,  or 
chose  first  seeing  the  light  of  the  rising  sun,  and  the  Great  Western  Confederacy  of  the 
Six  y<itions,  to  whom  the  French  gave  the  general  name  of  the  Iroqwus.  The  Abf- 
nakis,  under  their  various  tribal  names  and  organizations,  were  found  in  possession 
and  undoubted  ownership  of  all  the  present  New  England  States  bordering  on  the  At 
lantic.  New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  all  Lower  Canada,  East  of  and  around  the  St. 
Lawrence  \ip  to  and  some  distance  above  Montreal,  and  so  much  of  Vermont,  at  least, 
as  lies  East  of  the  Eastern  range  of  (he  Green  Mountains.  And  all  this  class  of  nativf- 
people  have  always  uniformly  claimed,  and  all  the  old  men  of  their  descendants,  Mho 
yet  keep  up,  in  dwindled  remnants,  their  tribal  organisations  on  the  Penobscot,  and  on 
other  rivers  perhaps  in  Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  still  continue  to  claim,  that  the 
Western  boundary  of  their  territory  was  originally,  and  always  rightfully,  Lake  Cham 
plain,  and  embraced  the  whole  of  the  present  State  of  Vermont,  and  that  the  iroquol .. 
who,  for  a  period,  might  have  been  in  possession  of  Western  Vermont,  obtained  it  with 
out  treaty,  purchase  or  right,  and  wholly  by  aggressive  warfare.  Jn  confirmation  oi' 
this  we  find  that  the  marking  or  designating  lines  on  the  ancient  map,  published  in 
1660,  by  Rev.  Father  Ducreux,  with  his  history  of  Canada,  places  '•  LKCHU  C/iamph-- 
/ttu&,"  Lake  Champlain,  as  the  Western  boundary  of  the  rightful  territory  of  the  Abe 
nakis  or  Eastern  Indians.  This  view  of  the  Western  boundary  of  the  Abenaki*  is 
fully  sanctioned  by  the  Rev.  Eugene  Vetromilc,  professor  in  the  Catholic  College  '.it 
Worcester,  Mass.,  who,  having  spent  a  long  period  as  a  missionary,  teacher  and  Pat 
riarch  of  the  Penobscot  Indians,  and  mastered  their  language  and  traditionary  history, 
has  recently  communicated  for  the  publications  of  the  Maine  Historical  Society  a.  very 
discriminating  and  valuable  treatise  on  the  subject  of  the  Abenaki  division  of  the  In 
dians.  And  we  can  no  where  find  any  authority  militating  against  this  view  of  thr 
ease,  with  a  single  exception,  which,  at  first  blush,  might  be  thought  to  do  so.  This 
was  in  the  conference  held  by  the  commissioners  sent  from  Boston,  and  the  Eastern 
Indians  in  the  presence  of  the  Governor  of  Canada,  in  1725,  after  those  Indians  began 
to  carry  on  their  war  against  New  England  in  alliance  with  the  French.  The  passage 
to  which  we  refer,  appears  in  the  report  soon  after  published  oy  these  commissioners, 
giving  the  results  of  the  conference,  which  had  been  demanded  by  the  Governor  of 
Canada  in  relation  to  the  destruction  of  the  Indian  village  of  Norridgewock,  in  Maine, 
and  other  aggressions  by  the  English.  In  that  report  the  commissioners,  in  speaking 
of  the  "  haughty'1''  demands  of  the  Indian  leaders,  say  "  they  demanded  that  the  Eng 
lish,  should  restore  their  lands  and  rebuild  their  church,"  which  they  had  destroyed  ai 
Norridgewock;  and  when  asked  what  land  they  referred  to,  said  "their  land  com 
menced  at  Long  River,  (the  Connecticut)  which,  lies  to  the  West,  ley  and  Boston— that 
(his  river  teas  formerly  the  boundary  which  separated  the  lands  of  the  Irogu-ois  f/om 
those  of  the  Abenakis,"  &c.  Now  although  the  first  glance  at  this  passage  might  lead 
us  to  suppose  it  indicated  the  Connecticut  river  as  the  dividing  line  between  the  Abt- 
nakis  and  the  Iroquois,  throughout  its  whole  length,  yet  a  second  inspection  will  bring 
us  to  perceive  that  it  refers  only  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  river,  which^  lying  West 


APPENDIX. 

of  Boston  and  bordering  Massachusetts,  was,  after  they  had  subjugated  the  Mohicans 
iu  truth,  in  that  section  of  the  Connecticut,  the  Eastern  boundary  of  the  Iroquois  ;  and 
it  probably  has  no  application  to  the  river  as  such  boundary,  on  the  upper  part  bor 
dering  Vermont ;  or,  if  it  possibly  has,  the  word  "formerly"  must  refer  only  to  thr 
time  when  the  Iroquois  held  their  temporary  possession  of  this  part  of  the  country. 

To  this  evidence  of  the  original  ownership  of  Vermont  by  the  Abenakis,  should  per 
haps  be  added  the  fact,  that  the  Indian  names  of  the  rivers  and  lakes  of  Vermont,  a* 
far  as  they  have  ever  become  known  to  us.  are  all  made  up  of  words  from  the  language 
of  the  Algonquins,  who  were  the  Canadian  branch  of  the  Abenakis.  This  fact,  it  is 
true,  is  not  very  conclusive,  since  the  Eastern  Indians  would  not  have  boeu  very  likely 
to  retain  the  names  which  their  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  might  have  previously  bestowed  : 
but  it  at  least  clearly  shows  that  the  former  must,  havr  been  last,  raid  for  a  consider 
able  period,  in  possession  of  this  disputed  territory. 

But  here  leaving  this  division  of  the  subject,  lot.  us  now  examine  the  <.  vidence  whi<  h 
has  been,  or  may  be  produced,  to  sustain  the  other,  or  Iroquois  side  of  the  question. 

In  the  first  place  we  have,  in  the  published  journal  of  the  expedition  of  Champlain. 
when,  in  the  summer  of  1609,  he  discovered  and  explored  the  lake  that  bears  his  name, 
full  and  direct  evidence  that  the  Iroquois  wrro  in  possession  of  just  about  the  same 
tract  of  territory  in  Vermont  to  which  their  descmdaiits  have  latterly  been  laying  claim 
•A*  a  part  of  their  original  domain,  being  a  gore  of  land  bordering  on  the  lake,  extending 
back  Eastward  between  forty  and  fifty  miles,  embracing  four  out  of  live  of  the  largest 
rivers,  and  almost  one  half  of  the  State.  Champlain  also  found  the  Abenaki*,  from 
which  nation  he  enlisted  his  attendants  for  the  voyage,  vxt  war  with  the  Iroquois — a  war 
probably  which  grew  out  of  the  aggression  of  the  latter  in  obtaining  p^-sessimi  of  thi* 
\ery  disputed  territory,  and  which  had  continued  up  to  that  time.  It  \<a<  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  attendance  of  these  Abenakis  in  Champlain's  vo\  age,  that  be  should 
help  them  light  their  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  whom  they  would  be  likely  to  encounter, 
as:  it  appears  they  did,  on  their  voyage  through  the  lake.  And  hr  distinctly  state*, 
that  during  this  voyage,  and  while  noting  the  mountains  on  the  East,  as  he  was  rowing 
through  the  broad  lake,  he  asked  his  new  allies  what  people  inhabited  those  mono- 
tains,  when  they  told  him  that  it  was  their  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  •who  peopled  ;ill  the 
\allies  among  those  mountains,  where  they  raised  abundance  of  corn.  In  addition  to 
this  evidence,  that  the  Iroquois  were,  at  that  time,  in  full  possession  of  the  disputed 
territory  in  Vermont,  may  be  adduced  another  fact,  which,  it.  appears  to  us,  has  u 
strong  bearing  on  the  subject  we  are  discussing.  Champlain,  on  proceeding  on  his  ex 
pedition,  found  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  the  Sorell,  bearing  the  name  of  the  ''River  «>j' 
the  Iroquois'' — a  name  which  the  French  must  have  bestowed  on  one  of  their  first  voy 
ages  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  more  than  half  a  century  before,  when  Cartier  made  hiv 
ubortive  attempts  to  found  colonies  at  Quebec  and  Montreal.  That  this  name  was  b»- 
.- towed  on  the  outlet  of  the  lake  by  the  French  in  one  of  their  two  first  ascents  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  in  1«!>35  and  1540,  "we  infer  from  the  fact  that,  after  1-510,  no  French  \i>\~ 
svgers  i-ame  up  the  St.  Lawrence  till  the  arrival  of  Champlain  in  the  beginning  of  the 
next  century  ;  and  had  lie  himself  discovered  and  named  this  outlet,  he  would,  in  his 
Account  of  it,  have  doubtless  mentioned  the  circumstance,  instead  of  treating  it,  a=  he 

39 


806  APPENDIX. 

evidently  does,  as  an  old  and  established  name.  If  this  conclusion  is  correct,  it  shows 
that,  as  early  at  least  as  1540,  the  Iroquois  were  in  possession  of  the  o\itlet  of  Lake 
Cham  plain,  and,  as  may  very  safely  be  presumed,  of  the  lake  itself  and  the  territory 
bordering  both  its  shores,  including  the  whole  of  that  tract  in  Vermont  subsequently 
claimed  by  their  descendants.  This  is  the  only  fact  we  can  find  among  either  the 
French  or  English  authorities,  from  which  can  be  inferred  the  first  date,  when  the  Iro 
quois  were  in  possession  of  the  claimed  part  of  Vermont.  And  it  is  probable,  from 
what  can  be  gathered  from  their  general  history,  that  it  was  about  that  date,  1540,  or 
not  many  years  before  it,  that  they  gained  this  possession,  and  gained  it  by  conquest, 
us  it  will  be  o\i'f  next  purpose  to  show  that  they  aid,  instead  of  having  been  the  original 
possessors  and  owners. 

According  to  David  Cusick,  the  only  native  historian  of  the  Six  Nations,  an  educated 
Iroquois,  who  has  attempted  to  give,  with  many  of  their  fabulous  traditions,  a  correct 
history  of  their  origin,  the  principal  events  in  chronological  order,  which  have  marked 
their  growth  and  progress  as  a  people.  According  to  Cusick,  the  Iroquois  originated 
in  five  families,  at  first,  located  on  the  North  Eastern  border  of  Lake  Ontario,  more 
than  a  thousand  years  before  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus.  These  families 
;tt  length  became  large  tribes,  formed  u  lasting  confederacy,  and,  adding  a  sixth  t<> 
their  number,  located  themselves,  at  first,  around  the  group  of  smaller  lakes  in  West 
era  New  York,  and  then,  in  process  of  time,  spread  themselves  through  the  A' alley  of 
th<;  Mohawk,  and  finally,  in  the  last  located,  the  Sixth  Nation,  over  the  country  fur 
ther  East  and  North  around  the  upper  portions  of  the  Hudson,  making  war  with  the 
Mohegans,  on  the  East  side  of  it,  and  reducing  them  to  a  tributary  nation.  This  las! 
event  he  makes  out  to  have  occurred  just  before  the  first  coming  of  the  Whites  to 
America.  The  confederacy  then  were  in  the  height  of  their  power,  numbering  23, OU ) 
warriors.  Soon  after  this,  they  began  to  extend  their  conquests  Westward  and  South 
ward,  waged  their  most  important  war  with  the  Eries  of  Ohio  and  drove  them  from 
their  country,  which  opened  to  the  conquerors  all  the  Great  West  to  the  shores  ot  the 
Mississippi,  while  their  conquests  South  were  soon  extended  to  the  Carolinaa. 

Much  of  this  account  of  Cusick  is,  doubtless,  handed  down  as  it  was  in  traditions  from 
generation  to  generation,  unreliable,  especially  in  respect  to  the  earlier  dates,  but  in 
regard  to  the  origin  of  this  people,  the  localities  of  their  residence,  and  their  principal 
wars  and  conquests,  the  successive  oral  transmitters  of  their  history  could  hardly  fail 
of  being  essentially  correct.  And  we  may  therefore,  confirmed  as  it  is  by  the  many  cir 
cumstances  found  to  exist  on  the  advent  of  the  Europeans,  set  it  down  as  an  established 
fact  that  the  Iroquois  originated  in  the  North  West  and  gradually  extended  themselves 
over  the  South  Eastern  parts  of  New  York  to  the  upper  parts  of  the  Hudson,  and  fin 
ally  to  Lake^Champlain,  and  some  distance  at  least  into  the  country  to  the  East  of  it. 
And  we  may  further  pretty  safely  conclude  that  they  could  not  have  reached  and  be 
come  possessed  of  Western  Vermont  much  before  the  French  found  their  way  into  the 
St.  Lawrence  in  1535;  since  their  conquest  of  the  Mohegans  did  not  take  place  till 
about  the  time  North  America  had  been  discovered  by  the  Whites,  and  we  may  reason 
ably  suppose  the  lapse  of  a  score  of  years  or  so,  after  their  conquest  and  possession  of 


APPENDIX.  307 

the  rich  and  extensive  Mohegan  territory  South  Kast  of  the  upper  part  of  thr  Hudson, 
Before  they  would  push  Northerly  on  to  Lake  Chaniplain  and  engage  in  ;i  neAv  war 
with  the  Abenakis,  and  succeed  in  wresting  from  them  their  territory  in  Western 
Vermont. 

De  Witt  Clinton,  in  his  very  able  and  discriminate  address  on  the  subject  of  the  .Sis 
Nations,  delivered  before  the  X.  Y.  Historical  Society  in  1825,  says,  that  Lake  Chain  - 
plain  was  called,  by  the  first  French  Voyagers,  the  "  8eu  of  the  Irorjuoift."  And  he 
further  distinctly  states,  after  quoting  Golden,  the  first  Fnglish  historian  of. thr 
Si\  Nations,  and  numerous  other  of  the  best  early  English  and  Freneh  authorities, 
that  this  lake  was  one  of  the  many  lakes  found  by  the  whites  in  possession  of  that  poo- 
pic.  And,  in  another  part  of  his  discourse,  while  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  limits 
of  their  possessions  on  the  East,  he  also  says  "  the  supremacy  of  the  Iroquois  probably 
prevailed,  at  one  time,  over  the  territory  as  far  East  as  the  Connecticut  River." 

This  was  when  this  great  and  sagacious  native  Republican  confederacy,  which  claims 
to  have  furnished  the  model  of  our  own,  was  in  the  height  of  its  power  and  glory,  ex 
tending  from  within  the  limits  of  New  England  on  the  East,  to  the  Mississippi  on  thr 
We^t,  and  to  South  Carolina  on  the  South,  and  embracing  the  great  body  of  the  present, 
United  States.  And  it  must  have  been,  also,  about  the  time  of  the  first  French  voya 
ges  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  1540.  And  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  limits  of 
their  supremacy  were  in  any  part  circumscribed  for  the  next  hundred  years,  or  before 
shout  1.610  or  1650,  when,  on  the  growing  power  of  the  French  in  Canada,  and  the  iu- 
«•  i  rasing  inclination  of  their  tribes  to  move  Westward  for  the  occupation  of  their  open 
ing  in  the  more  genial  climes  towards  the  Mississsippi,  it  appears  quite  certain  they 
must  have  relinquished  their  Eastern  possessions  of  conquests  round  Lake  Chaniplain 
and  the  upper  Hudson,  and  began  to  follow  the  course  of  their  nation  Westward. 

We  arrive  at  the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  though  the  Iroquois  were  not  the  origi 
nal  occupants  and  owners  of  any  part  of  Vermont,  yet  they  did  become  possessed  of  it, 
m  at  least  the  part  of  it  claimed  by  their  descendants,  including  the  Winooski  V alley, 
by  conquest,  a  short  time  previous  to  1540,  and  that  they  continued  to  possess  it  for 
about  a  century  afterwards  ;  when  they  must  have  voluntarily  relinquished  it  and  with 
drawn  into  the  State  of  New  York.  We  say  voluntarily,  because  at  the  close  of  that 
period,  and  for  twenty  years  afterwards,  the  Iroquois,  or  the  Mohawks,  as  they  were 
generally  called,  were  the  terror  of  all. the  New  England  tribes,  and  the  latter  would 
never  have  had  the  disposition  nor  power  to  assail  and  expel  such  formidable  enemies 
from  the  territory,  in  which  they  had  become  so  well  established  by  conquest,  had  the 
latter  any  wish  to  retain  it.  And  that  this  relinquishment  of  Vermont  by  the  Iroquois 
did  take  place  before  or  about  the  period  we  have  named,  1640,  we  may  very  safely  in 
fer  from  a  combination  of  facts  and  circumstances  which  otherwise  could  not  have  ex- 
Nted.  In  the  first  place,  we  may  infer  it  from  the  before  cited  map  of  Father  Ducreux. 
published  in  1640.  making  the  Western  boundary  of  territory  of  the  Abenakis  to  be,  at 
that  time,  Lake  Champlain.  In  the  second  place  we  may  infer  it  from  many  of  thf 
well  known  events  of  a  later  date.  In  the  war  of  King  Philip,  which  occurred  in  1675, 
it  became  well  known  that  both  sides  of  the  Connecticut,  from  its  mouth  to  its  sources 


GOB  APPENDIX. 

and  far  towards  the  Hudson  on  the  West,  were  in  possession  of  the  Eastern  Indians 
For  ho  made  alliances  with  their  tribes  living  on  both  bides  of  that  river,  and  drew  an 
important  part  of  his  forces  from  the  West  side  of  it,  as  high  up  as  the  portion  border 
ing  Vermont.     And  it  appears  that  about  the  *ame  time  he  personally  visited  the  Mn- 
hawks,  in  the  valley  of  the  river  of  that  name,  to  try  to  draw  them  into  his  alliance, 
but  not  only  utterly  failed  in  the  attempt,  but,  through  some  mismanagement  of  him 
self  or  attendants,  actually  brought  down  a  foray  of  the  Mohawks  on  his  Western  rear, 
which  was  doubtless  the  true  secret  of  the  sudden  desertion  of  his  allies  and  the  disa* 
trous  turn  which  all  at  once  mysteriously  occurred  in  the  fortunes  of  that  groat  nativr 
warrior  of  New  England.     Now  had  the  dreaded  Mohawks  been  in  possession  of  ary 
part  of  Vermont  when  Philip  was  mustering  his  forees,  none  of  the  .Eastern  tribes 
would  have  been  found  round  the  upper  portions  of  the  Connecticut  to  come  forward 
to  join  him;  nor  would  he  have  made  the  upper  part  of  the  Valley  of  the  Connecticut 
the  refuge  or  fastness,  as  he  often  did,  to  which  he  withdrew  his  forces  during  the  war. 

In  addition  to  this,  may  be  cited  the  facts  attending  the  destruction  of  Schenectady 
by  the  French  and  their  Abenakis  allies  in  1693.  The  whole  valley  of  Lake  Champlain 
was  then  evidently  entirely  clear  of  Iroquois  ;  for  the  assailants  of  that  fated  village, 
though  not  a  strong  force,  passed  unmolested  through  that  valley,  and  even  to  that 
village  (30  or  70  miles  to  the  South  West  of  it,  without  attack,  or  fear  of  attack,  from  th<* 
[roquois,  who  at  that  time,  though  in  close  alliance  with  the  Dutch  and  English,  \\-or <: 
located  still  further  up  the  Mohawk  River. 

It  seems  that  Capt.  Champlain,  by  his  imprudent  course  in  joining  the  Abenakis, 
mi  his  first  voyage  through  the  lake,  and  killing  two  of  the  Iroquois  chiefs  in  the  skir 
mish  that  there  ensued,  roused  xip  the  lasting  ire  of  that  fierce  and  proud  people,  which 
resulted  in  a  lasting  war  upon  the  French,  that,  at  one  time  threatened  the  entire  ex 
pulsion  of  the  latter  from  Canada.  And  this  led  to  the  close  alliance  which  was  then 
formed  between  the  French  and  all  the  tribes  of  the  Abenakis,  and  which  continued 
uninterrupted  till  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  English  in  1760.  And  not  only 
was  the  expedition  against  Schenectady  by  the  French  and  Abenakis  made  through  the 
valley  of  Champlain  :  hut  all  the  subsequent  ones  by  the  same  allies,  or  by  the  Abr- 
nakis  by  themselves,  against  the  frontier  settlements  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hamp 
shire  were  made  through,  or  emanated  from,  some  one  of  the  vallies  in  Vermont  em 
braced  in  the  disputed  territory,  generally  the  Winooski  Valley;  and  to  this  territory 
they  retreated,  after  their  forays,  as  to  the  stronghold  and  home,  in  which  there  was 
no  danger  of  pursuit.  This  would  no\er  have  been  the  case,  if  there  were  any  trace  of 
the  dreaded  Iroquois  remaining  in  any  part  of  Vermont.  It  may  be  said  by  some, 
perhaps,  that  the  Iroquois  may  have  been  expelled  from.  Vermont  by  the  French  and 
their  .allies,  the  Abeiinkis,  its  the  French  power  increased  in  Canada,  and  that  they  did 
not  leave  it  voluntarily  as  we  have  supposed.  But  we  have  no  accounts  of  any  battles 
nr  skirmishes  "between  the  French  and  Abenakis  and  the  Iroquois  on  the  borders  of 
Champlain,  in  which  any  such  expulsion  could  be  effected.  Indeed,  all  our  early  histo 
ries  concur  in  making  out  the  expedition  against  Schenectady  the  first  one  undertaken 
in  this  quarter  by  the  French  and  Eastern  Indians,  whether  to  make  war  against  the 
English  or  the  Iroquois. 


APPENDIX.  309 

There  is  one  more  Consideration  to  lie  presented  before  closing  this  branch  of  thp 
subject,  which  is  this  :  If  the  Iroquois  were  the  original  owners  of  this  disputed  ter 
ritory  in  Vermont,  how  came  it  about  that  they,  being  so  powerful  a  people,  should 
own  such  a  peculiarly  marked  and  located  portion  of  it  ?  Why  did  they  not  own  the 
"hole  of  it,  including  the  pleasant  vallies  of  the  Connecticut  in  the  Southern  part  of 
the  State,  taking  that  river  against  Vermont  for  their  Eastern  limit,  which  would  ha\<" 
made  one  of  those  natural,  national  boundaries  so  generally  adopted  by  the  Aborigines 
"f  this  country  ?  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  even  to  this 
question,  on  the  supposition  that  the  Iroquois  were  the  original  owners  of  the  territory 
in  question. 

The  questionableness  of  the  claimed  boundary,  indeed,  is  not  without  confirmation 
in  the  admission  of  these  Iroquois  claimants  themselves.  In  the  Keport  of  the  Hon. 
T.  P.  Redfield,  who  was  appointed  in  1853  by  the  Governor  to  investigate  this  claim, 
and  who  embodied  in  his  report  of  18.54  all  our  former  legislative  and  executive  pro 
ceedings  on  the  subject,  we  rind,  in  the  most  formal  and  specific  memorial  which  th^ 
Iroquois  chiefs  ever  presented  to  our  Legislature — that  of  1812 — the  following  admis- 
MOM  :  "  In  the  yem'  1683,  our  ancestors  had  a  considerable  dispute,  as  to  the  boi'/>d"rv 
Hue  of  thr  land  we  now  claim,  with  the  Eastern  Indians."  This  at  least  proves  thaf 
•ho  Iroquois  claim  to  the  disputed  territory  has  never  been  acquiesced  in  by  the  East- 
rrn  Indians  ;  and  it  probably  also  points  to  the  time  when  those  Eastern  Indians,  hav 
ing  for  the  previous  forty  years  been  gradually  resuming  their  possession  of  this  terrj 
fory.  now  began  to  be  in  a  position  to  vindicate  their  right  and  title  on  the  ground  <>f 
u\'-ir  prior  ownership  and  occupancy. 

In  MOW,  then,  of  all  the  evidence  on  both  sides  of  this  question,  >^p  think  we  arc  wHl 
warranted  in  deducing  the  following  conclusions: — 

IM.  That,  the  Abenakis,  or  Eastern  Indians,  were  the  original  owners,  and  the  lirst  and 
fast  possessors  of  the  Winooski  Valley  and  all  the  rest  of  Vermont  claimed  by  thr 
Iroquois. 

"rj.  That  the  Iroquois  did  come  in  possession  of  this  territory  by  conquest,  sonic  short 
timr  previous  to  loJ-0,  and  held  it  and  lived  in  it  till  near  1640,  when  they  vol- 
tmtarily  relinquished  it  to  the  original  owners,  the  Abenakis,  who  coming  in — per 
haps  gradually  stealing  in — took  full  possession  and  retained  it,  for  the  next  hun 
dred  years,  or  till  the  settlement  of  the  State  by  our  ancestors  between  1740  and 


310  APPENDIX. 


["  A  citizen  and  native  of  Montpeher,  who,  for  amusement,  sometimes  writes  but 
never  publishes,  has  furnished  the  following  lines,  composed  the  morning  aft«=r  th> 
catastrophe  they  describe,  for  insertion  in  our  appendix.] 

BURNING  OF  THE  STATE   HOUSE  AT    MONTPELIER, 

On  the  evening  of  the  6th  day  <>e  January,  18.57,  the  State  House  at  Montpeliei  war- 
cousumed  by  h're,     The  night  was   cold,  the  thermometer  fifteen  degrees  below  zero,- 
and  the  wind  blowing  a  gale.     The  coals  and  cinders   were  blown  for  half  a  mile  (n?i 
the  village,  setting  tires  in  many  places,  which   were,  however,  by  the  vigilance  of  the 
citizens,  extinguished  without  damage. 


O'er  Montpelier,  beauteous  town, 
The  .shades  of  night  were  closing  down  , 
The  lovely  moon,  the  queen  of  night, 
Was  driving  on  her  chariot  bright ; 
And  star  on  star  their  infiuencr  lent, 
'Till  glowed  with  fire  the  firmament. 
The  wind  was  blowing  high  and  stiong, 
And  swept  in  fearful  gusts  alorlg  ; 
The  piercing  cold  had  cleared  the  street 
Of  merry  voice  and  busy  feet, — 
And  gathered  round  the  cheerful  hearth, 
The  smiling  face,  the  social  mirth, 
Show'd  that  the  night  was  gaily  past, 
While  outward  howled  the  roaring  blast. 

What  means  that  wild  and  startling  cry. 
To  which  the  echoing  hills  reply  ? 
First  feeble,  low,  and  faint  arid  mild  : 
Then  loud  and  terrible  and  wild. 
'Tis  fire  !  fire  !  that  awful  sound  ! 
Fire  !  fire  !  fire  !  the  hills  resound  ! 
Now  rising  near — now  heard  afar, 
The  stillness  of  the  night  to  mar, 
Join'd  with  the  wind's  wild  roaiing,  hear 
The  cry  of  fire  burst  on  the  ear  ! 


APPENDIX.  311 


Forth  from  the  hearth,  the  shop,  the  store, 
At  that  dread  sound,  the  myriads  pour — 
And,  gathering  as  they  pass  along, 
Kach  street  and  alley  swells  the  throng. 
The  rattling  engines  passing  by, 
The  roaring  wind,  the  larum  cry, 
The  ringing  bells,  the  wild  affright. 
Still  add  new  terrors  to  the  night. 

See  younder  grand  and  stately  pile, 
With  lofty  dome,  and  beauteous  aisle. 
Our  village  glory,  and  our  pride, 
Whose  granite  walls  old  Time  defied  ; 
Her  halls  of  state,  her  works  of  art, 
Hoth  please  the  eye,  and  charm  the  heart. 

The  moon's  pale  light  on  those  dark  walls 

Coldly  now  is  gleaming  ; 
Hut  in  her  proud  and  lofty  halls 

A  wilder  light  is  streaming. 
Now  gaily  dancing  to  and  fro, 

Now  upward  speeds  its  flight- 
See  !  on  its  dome,  now  capp'd  with  snow, 
'The  flame  doth  spread  its  fearful  glow 

Of  purple  light. 

The  wind  roars  loud,  the  flamee  flash  high, 
f> aping  and  dancing  to  the  sky  ; 

While  in  the  rooms  below, 
From  hall  to  hall  resistless  rushing, 
From  doors  and  windows  furious  gushing— 

Oh  !  how  sublime  the  shoM  ' 


Dark  clouds  of  smoke  spread  far  and  wide, 
And  balls  of  rire  on  every  side 

Fall  like  the  Autumn  hail  ; 
Before  the  fury  of  the  blast, 
The  rushing  flames,  that  spread  so  last, 

The  heart  of  man  may  quail 


312  APPENDIX. 

Ah,  man,  how  feeble  is  thy  power, 
In  that  dread  and  fearful  hour 

When  names  are  flashing  free 
ir'rom  lofty  spires  and  windows  high, 
And  clouds  of  smoke  obscure  the  sky, 
As  onward,  on,  the  flames  rush  by, 

In  their  wildest  revelrey  ! 

Roar  on,  fierce  flame  ;  beneath  thy  pow«-i 
The  works  of  years,  in  one  short  hour, 

Are  swept  from  earth  away  ; 
And  nought  is  left  of  all  their  pride, 
Hut  ashes,  scattered  far  and  wide, 
And  crumbling  walls,  with  smoke  dark-dyed, 

Spread  out  in  disarray. 

That  lofty  pile,  one  hour  ago, — 

The  State's  just  pride,  the  Nation's  show. 

Capp'd  with  its  bright  and  virgin  snow,- 

In  beauty  shone  : 
The  next,  a  muss  of  ruined  walls, 
Of  columns  broke,  and  burning 

Its  beauty  flown. 


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